Graduating seniors in each undergraduate degree program in UC Santa Barbara’s Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering select one Outstanding Faculty Award recipient every spring, honoring faculty members whose teaching, mentorship, and dedication have made a lasting impact on their undergraduate experience.

The Outstanding Faculty for the Class of 2026 are Phillip Christopher in the Chemical Engineering Department, Yoga Isukapalli in Computer Engineering, Eric Vigoda in Computer Science, Clint Schow in Electrical Engineering, and Geoff Tsai in Mechanical Engineering. Christopher, Vigoda, Schow, and Tsai are first-time recipients of the award, while Isukapalli received the honor for the eighth consecutive year.

Here is what the recipients had to say about being recognized by the Class of 2026.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Graduating seniors selected Phillip Christopher to receive the 2025-26 Outstanding Chemical Engineering Faculty Award. Christopher, who is receiving the honor for the first time, taught many members of the Class of 2026 in Chemical Reaction Engineering, Process Dynamics and Control, and Design of Chemical Processes.

“Receiving the award from the Class of 2026 is a huge honor,” Christopher said. “It has been fun and rewarding watching the students grow and mature as engineers.”

The experience, he said, reached a high point in the senior design course.

“Seeing the high-quality engineering work being done in 184B has been the pinnacle of getting to know the class,” he said.

Christopher joked that he was somewhat surprised to be selected after requiring attendance in his 8 a.m. Chemical Reaction Engineering course, including a syllabus policy that allowed one free absence before additional unexcused absences affected a student’s overall grade.

Asked what comes to mind when he thinks about the Class of 2026, Christopher described the graduates as “engaged, dynamic, intuitive, creative,” adding that they are “early risers” who can “quantitatively sketch a first-order response with their eyes closed.” He also noted that they are the first graduating class to have learned with large language models, calling them “amazing coders.”

His message to the graduates balanced celebration with a reminder that their education will continue long after commencement.

“Congratulations! The experience as a UCSB undergraduate and as a chemical engineering student can be intense,” he said. “Time can fly. I hope you can take a few minutes while you are still on campus to reflect on everything you have learned, and experienced through your time at UCSB, and also what you have given back.”

Christopher, whose previous recognitions include the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the American Chemistry Society’s Ipatieff Prize in Catalyis, also urged the graduates to keep building new skills as the field evolves.

“The toolset of chemical engineers is dynamic right now and it is your responsibility to keep up,” he said. “You have moved beyond solving differential equations and turning wrenches. You are data scientists, software engineers, communicators, LLM orchestrators, etc. The problems you will tackle as a generation require you to continuously push your skills, tools and capabilities.”

He closed with a note of confidence in the class and the impact they will make.

“Knowing you all well, I am confident you will all excel and that humanity will benefit from your efforts,” he said. “Today you should enjoy, celebrate and appreciate your accomplishments at UCSB. Tomorrow, we need you to get back to work and make positive impacts. Always, go Gauchos! Please keep in touch with us…we are excited to hear about your lives.”

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Graduating seniors selected Geoff Tsai, an assistant teaching professor of mechanical engineering, as the recipient of the 2025-26 Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Faculty Award. Tsai, a first-time recipient, said that the recognition is especially meaningful because it comes from students.

“I give teaching my all, and it’s what I spend the most time thinking about because I care a lot about the students’ learning experience and development as mechanical engineers and members of society,” Tsai said. “That they would let me into their thoughts, that they can be open-minded and consider concepts, that they are willing to put their energy, time, and hard work into class, that I get to witness them becoming passionate about mechanical engineering — that is already the reward to me as an educator. So, to be selected for this award on top of all of that, to have this effort be recognized, I feel like I’ve won the lottery twice.”

Tsai said that he feels fortunate to have seen the Class of 2026 learn and create across multiple courses, including Arduino projects in ME 10, structural analysis and optimization in ME 108, and experiments in ME 105.

“It’s been wonderful to get to know you, learn about your diverse interests, and marvel at your amazing creativity,” he said.

His advice to the graduates was to carry forward both their skills and the support they received along the way.

“Don’t accept the world as it is,” he said. “Use and continue to develop your talents to change something in this world to make it a better place. Reflect on the help and kindness that others showed you and helped you get where you are today, and seek out ways to pay that forward. Congratulations, Class of 2026!”

COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Once again, the Outstanding Computer Engineering Faculty Award has gone to Yoga Isukapalli, a teaching professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has received the honor eight years in a row.  

“Teaching is at the heart of what I do, and being recognized by the students I’ve had the privilege of working with is deeply humbling,” Isukapalli said. “This award matters to me more than most because it comes directly from the graduating seniors.”

Reflecting on the Class of 2026, Isukapalli pointed to the graduates’ ability to adapt.

“This class navigated a world changing faster than any before it, in technology, in the college, and in society,” he said.

His final message emphasized curiosity, humility, and service.

“Stay curious and stay humble,” he said. “The most important learning of your career is still ahead of you. And whenever you can, give back. Congratulations, Class of 2026. Go make us proud.”

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Electrical and computer engineering (ECE) professor Clint Schow was chosen by graduating seniors to receive the 2025-26 Outstanding Electrical Engineering Faculty Award. This is Schow’s first time receiving the recognition, he said, that was both meaningful and unexpected.

“I’m honored, flattered, and truly surprised to receive the award,” Schow said. “I’m never sure how well I’m doing with teaching, but it’s important to me, and it’s amazing to connect with students who are just discovering the possibilities and challenges of ECE.”

Schow said that one of the most rewarding parts of teaching is getting to know students beyond the classroom, particularly through office hours.

“Every quarter, there is a group of regulars who attend office hours, and I love getting to know them and seeing them progress as they complete their degrees at UCSB,” he said.

Because Schow has taught a core sophomore course for the past decade, he said he has had the opportunity to meet nearly every undergraduate in the program. The class of 2026, he said, has been especially memorable.

“I’ve had the privilege of having four members of this graduating class working in my lab alongside my grad students, and they’ve done amazing work,” Schow said. “I’m proud of the class and think they will do great things as they write their next chapters in industry and academia.”

Schow’s research focuses on closely integrating electronics and photonics to push the boundaries of speed and efficiency for the photonic links and optical networks that data centers and computers increasingly depend upon to share and move data. He joined the UCSB faculty in 2015 and is an elected fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Optica.

His message to the graduates encouraged them to trust their preparation while continuing to grow.

“Use all the skills you have gained and be confident,” Schow said. “Accept challenges and keep learning. Your degree is a strong foundation that you can build upon.”

COMPUTER SCIENCE
Graduating seniors selected Eric Vigoda, a professor of computer science, as the recipient of the 2025-26 Outstanding Computer Science Faculty Award. Vigoda is receiving the honor for the first time.

“I am very happy to receive this award,” said Vigoda. “I really enjoy teaching undergraduates, so I’m grateful to know that the students appreciate my efforts.”

Vigoda’s research is in theoretical computer science, with interests that include Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, randomized algorithms, phase transitions in statistical physics, and the computational complexity of approximate counting and sampling problems. He is a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.