Sarah Walsh Wins KU Excellence in Community, Education, and Leadership (ExCEL) Award

Lawrence, KS  - The NSF Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology (EARTH) proudly recognizes Sarah Walsh, a Chemical Engineering student and member of the Shiflett Research Group, for being named the recipient of the 2025 Excellence in Community, Education, and Leadership (ExCEL) Homecoming Award at the University of Kansas. 

Sarah, who is affiliated with both the Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering (WISE) and NSF ERC EARTH, was honored during the KU Homecoming football game on Saturday, where she learned of her selection. The ExCEL Award recognizes two outstanding KU students each year for exceptional leadership, involvement, and commitment to the campus and community. 

A B.S. Chemical Engineering major with minors in Business and Biomedical Engineering, Sarah is also a SELF Fellow and an active researcher advancing sustainable refrigerant and cooling technologies through her work with WISE and EARTH. 

The WISE community congratulates Sarah on this remarkable achievement and celebrates her leadership, service, and dedication to engineering innovation.   

Congratulations, Sarah, on representing WISE, NSF ERC EARTH, and the University of Kansas with excellence! 

Learn more: 

Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering (WISE) 

NSF Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology (EARTH) 

Dr. Mark Shiflett’s Research Group at the University of Kansas