Abel Misrak (’20 PhD, Mechanical Engineering) had more experience in the field of electronic and photonic packaging than most students when he graduated from UTA. As a graduate student under Dereje Agonafer, Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, he authored or co-authored more than 10 conference papers and three journal papers.
In 2020, Dr. Misrak was recognized for his accomplishments, being named Student Engineer of the Year by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division. One student is selected each year for the award nationally.
“This award is an important recognition of the hard work I put in during my time at UTA,” he says. “I’m grateful to Dr. Agonafer for his support, as well as the support of the people who submitted letters of recommendation on my behalf and who helped me along the way.”
Agonafer is on a bit of a roll, too, with Misrak being the third of his doctoral students to win the honor.
Throughout his graduate career, Misrak served in leadership roles on multiple projects, including collaborations with Texas Instruments and a material characterization study sponsored by TDK Invense. He also completed several internships at Tesla, where he recently began his professional career as a senior mechanical design engineer.
