Jen, Tedesco honored at Celebration of Education

Each spring, the Carnegie Mellon University community gathers for its Celebration of Education Awards, which honor outstanding contributions in the areas of teaching, mentorship, service and educational innovation. This year, two members of the chemical engineering community were among the eight individuals who were recognized. 

 

Teaching Innovation Award
Coty Jen, Associate Professor

When Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Coty Jen developed the “Reacting with Nature” project, she recognized the need to integrate environmental sustainability and community-based learning into the curriculum for chemical engineering majors at Carnegie Mellon University. 

“Reacting with Nature” is a semester-long, community-based project that connects students with real-world problems encountered in the sustainable water reuse system operated by the Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL), a part of Phipps Conservatory. 

The project is part of the Chemical Reaction Engineering course, which is a requirement for juniors pursuing chemical engineering. Jen, the recipient of the university’s Teaching Innovation Award, redesigned this course to pivot from its previous petrochemical focus to one that examines the challenges of environmental resilience and sustainable development. 

Through the project, students apply core reaction engineering principles to the design and analysis of sustainable water reuse systems.

“By collaborating with community partners, our students are learning to develop solutions to the real-world problems they will face as chemical engineers,” Jen said. “It is important that their education is aligned with the current and future needs of our changing world.” 

The project culminates in a public poster session where students present their findings to both technical and nontechnical audiences. This sharpens their communication skills and affords them the opportunity to translate complex engineering concepts to a broader audience. 

In developing the project, Jen teamed up with previous students who helped to craft its learning plan and curriculum. These students in turn became mentors to the current students. 

Jen and her team presented the model for “Reacting with Nature” at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) annual meeting in November 2025. 

“Jen’s work demonstrates how chemical engineering pedagogy can evolve to meet the demands of a changing world by empowering students to become thoughtful and responsible engineers for society,” said Aditya Khair, professor and associate head of chemical engineering. “Her approach not only enhances student learning and engagement but also provides a replicable model for other courses and institutions seeking to integrate sustainability and community-based learning.”

Jen leads the Jen Research Lab, where she examines the life cycle of aerosol particles in the atmosphere and how these particles ultimately affect air quality and the environment. Her work is part of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies. 

Carnegie Mellon's Teaching Innovation Awards honor specific teaching innovations implemented by 1-3 full-time faculty or staff instructors of record annually. It recognizes teaching practices designed to improve student learning in online, blended or face-to-face courses. Innovations may be any teaching strategy used in a course, class meeting, assignment, or other learning activity.

Graduate Student Service Award
Carolina Colombo Tedesco

Carolina Colombo Tedesco believes a support system is critical for scientific success. She’s spent her time as a chemical engineering Ph.D. student dedicated to fostering such a system in support of her peers. Her effort has earned her the 2026 Graduate Student Service Award, highlighting her role as leader and researcher. 

Tedesco’s impact is exemplified by her leadership within the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Organization (ChEGSA). As president, she moved beyond traditional event planning activities to address structural gaps in the student experience, including her effort building the Alumni-Student Mentorship Program. 

For Tedesco, the value of this program was in the connection itself. "Seeing that alumni were willing to give their most valuable asset — their time — to chat with current students shows how they like to stay connected with the department," she said. By creating a platform where doctoral students engage with alumni for insights into the real world, she ensured the Department of Chemical Engineering remains a community for students beyond graduation.

She also initiated the creation of student-led faculty awards. "We wanted to formalize the recognition of the support faculty give to graduate students, which makes such a difference in department culture," Tedesco said.

With input from professors, she also improved the structure of the Mock Qualifier Exams, managing the logistics to help students navigate their most stressful academic milestone. "It was very rewarding to see everyone taking it seriously," she said. "The students acting as the committee were really there to help their peers, and the presenters were open for their questions and input."

Serving as a bridge between students and faculty taught her that effective leadership is rooted in accessibility. "Just by caring, showing up, and being open to talk to people, you can make a difference," Tedesco said. At CMU, she has applied this mindset to her service, treating leadership as a learning process. "We have a lot of ideas and not a lot of time to put them into practice,” she said. “I learned it’s better to simplify an idea and make a version of it happen than never bringing it to life."

As she balances her own scientific research with her community service, Tedesco continues to prove that helping build a community is a true part of the CMU experience.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Graduate Student Service Award is given annually to a graduate student to recognize their outstanding contributions via volunteer service to a CMU department, college, or the broader academic community, especially with respect to supporting fellow graduate students.