Mohamed Chouikha, Ph.D.
CHICAGO (May 4, 2023) – Each year, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association Awards Committee gathers nominations for individuals who have greatly impacted the organization and the Electrical and Computer Engineering field.
This year, Mohamed Chouikha, Ph.D., executive professor of electrical and computer engineering at Prairie View A&M University, received the 2023 Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award. ECEDHA’s Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award honors individuals with a strong record of spearheading efforts to improve ECE and serving as role models for others.
“At a personal level, I am very humbled with such an honor. At a professional level, to be the one selected for this prestigious award by my peers from all over the USA and Canada is very rewarding. I am very grateful to be a member of a great institution Prairie View A&M University and thankful for the support of my colleagues,” said Chouikha, who recently was awarded over $500,000 from the National Science Foundation for his research.
Dr. Chouikha’s career is a testament to the power of commitment to education. For over 30 years, he has worked at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, where he has committed to ensuring that students at Minority Serving Institutions receive a world-class education.
He has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in PVAMU’s Roy G. Perry College of Engineering since 2018. In addition to the role of executive professor, today, Chouikha serves as chief scientist and executive director of SECURE Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. He continues to focus on enhancing the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities in engineering.
As a founding participant and a board member of the Inclusive Engineering Consortium, Chouikha has worked to advance the mission. The overall goal of the IEC is to produce a larger and better-prepared pool of African-American, Hispanic, and Native American ECE graduates.
With the help of Dr. Chouikha, the IEC has 21 ECE departments that serve more than 200 faculty and 5,000 students across the nation.
While presenting the award, John Janowiak, executive director of ECEDHA, remarked, “Mohamed’s commitment to [diversity, equity and inclusion] is significant and recognized by many in the ECE community.” He reminds us to focus on the humanity of others in order to create a more inclusive and promising future.
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