Four faculty members were honored with the 2025 UAB Graduate Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award on April 22 at the UAB National Alumni Society House. This annual award recognizes four full-time, regular UAB faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments as mentors of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
The first Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Awards were presented in 2008. Since its inception, more than 200 faculty members across campus have received this honor. The nomination process begins in the fall, when graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and department chairs are invited to submit nominations. To be eligible, nominees must have at least three years of service as UAB faculty and a minimum of five nomination letters. Past recipients are not eligible for
re-nomination for five years.
This year, the selection committee received 11 nominations. Four faculty members were chosen for this prestigious award. The committee evaluated key characteristics that define outstanding mentors in making its final decisions.
“The importance of mentorship cannot be overstated. Great mentors guide, inspire, encourage, and support their mentees throughout their training and beyond. Mentorship is one of the most important roles of our faculty, and it has a profound impact,” said David A. Schneider, PhD, Interim Dean of the Graduate School.
“It is an honor to recognize and celebrate the exceptional mentors who received this award,” he added.
Award winners received a crystal trophy, a certificate, and a copy of the nomination letters submitted by their mentees and colleagues.
2025 Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award Recipients
Selvum Pillay, Ph.D. – School of Engineering
Dr. Selvum Brian Pillay is a professor in the UAB Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the Director of the UAB Materials Processing and Applications Development (MPAD) Center. He has more than 20 years of experience in materials and processing development for polymer matrix composite materials. Dr. Pillay serves as an editorial board member for several renowned international scientific journals and as faculty advisor for student organizations such as the SAMPE Student Chapter and the NSBE Student Chapter. He received the UAB President's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2021.
As a principal investigator in composite materials research, Dr. Pillay has secured more than $8 million in funding from agencies including the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), and various industries. He has mentored more than 15 MS and PhD students, many of whom have gone on to become faculty members, NASA engineers, directors, or managers in industry, and researchers at UAB’s materials engineering lab.
One of his nominators shared, “I learned from Dr. Pillay the value of giving true ownership of a task to someone as a way to encourage critical thinking and pride in one’s work. In the beginning, I was often frustrated by how Dr. Pillay’s research assignments were open-ended and with minimal constraints. This taught me to swim rather than reach for the life preserver. Dr. Pillay later confided in me that his approach to withhold the “right answers” was intentional to encourage creative thinking. This powerful yet simple method is something I cherish and unleash on engineers."
Cheng-Chien Chen, Ph.D. – College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Cheng-Chien Chen is an associate professor in the Department of Physics at UAB. He earned his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University and went on to complete postdoctoral research at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. His expertise lies in using high-performance computing, first-principles calculations, and machine learning simulations to discover and model novel quantum materials.
Since 2016, Dr. Chen has mentored two postdoctoral fellows, seven PhD students, 14 undergraduates, and three high school students, several of whom have earned prestigious scholarships and fellowships. His work is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the National Science Foundation (NSF), including an NSF CAREER Award.
One of his nominators stated, “Dr. Chen is a role model who upholds the highest ethical standards in scholarly activity. His commitment to our growth was evident in the way he balanced guidance with the encouragement of independence, allowing us to explore our own research interests while always offering support. Furthermore, his commitment to students’ professional developments extended beyond the lab, offering invaluable career advice. Thanks to his guidance, I was able to identify and secure my current position as a principal engineer at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company."
Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., MSEE – School of Medicine & School of Health Professions
Dr. Tapan Mehta is a professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UAB, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Health Services Administration. His research focuses on health services and outcomes related to disabilities and cardiometabolic conditions, emphasizing scalable and sustainable program delivery with a health equity lens.
Dr. Mehta leads the data coordinating center for the CDC-funded National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability and co-directs the NIH-funded Nutrition Obesity Research Center’s Behavioral Science and Analytics Core. He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as JAMA and Nature Genetics.
One of his nominators said, “Dr. Mehta has built the department’s previously nonexistent research team into a robust group of eight faculty investigators spearheading 11 active grants and supported by 16 research staff. In fact, four of the current department research staff are either his past or current mentees, a testament to the personal impact Dr. Mehta has on the researchers he advises. Dr. Mehta champions trainees’ development by investing his efforts into ensuring they have the time and guidance to explore the grant-writing process, build their professional network by engaging with leading scholars at conferences, and develop and submit their own proposals.”
J. Nicholas Odom, Ph.D., RN – School of Nursing
Dr. Nicholas Odom is the Doreen C. Harper Endowed Professor of Nursing at UAB and Director of Caregiver and Bereavement Support Services at the UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care. His work focuses on early palliative care, telehealth, and interventions for caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.
Over the past decade, Dr. Odom has mentored nearly 50 individuals across nursing, psychology, medicine, and sociology, fostering their professional development. His research has led to the establishment of one of the first clinic-based caregiver support services in the U.S.
A nominator remarked, “Dr. Odom provided unwavering support, encouragement, and inspiration while fostering independence. His guidance extended far beyond my time in the program, as he remained a supportive mentor even after my graduation. His mentorship imbued me with a commitment to lifelong learning and professional development, a value he consistently models through his own scholarship and service. His influence extends far beyond academia, as he shapes the future of his trainees by equipping them with the tools and mindset necessary for lifelong success.”