Engineering Online student Steven Kaplan was named among five recipients of the College of Engineering’s Graduate Awards this year.

Kaplan, who earned his master of science in mechanical engineering this May, received the college’s Distance Education Graduate Award. He was one of 29 students nominated across eight departments.

“Steve has exceptional technical capacity, enthusiasm and drive to become an outstanding researcher and engineering leader,” said Katherine Saul, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and Kaplan’s nominator.

“It is also important to note that Steve has achieved this high performance while working full-time at MicroEpsilon as a Senior Sales and Application Engineer and while often taking two online distance education courses per semester,” she said.

In addition to excelling in his coursework, Kaplan was also a research contributor in the Movement Biomechanics Lab.

He led an independent project to quantify upper limb end-point stiffness across self-selected postures. It’s an important measure of limb biomechanical function that is often affected after injuries or disrupted neural control.

“Steve’s technical capacity, creativity, analysis and enthusiasm for research are easily as strong as the strongest graduate students I have worked with,” Saul added. “He has most frequently worked in the evenings — remotely and independently — yet has made fantastic advancements for our research group.”

“I am honored to be the recipient of this award and appreciative to the College of Engineering for selecting me,” Kaplan said. “Attending NC State was a rewarding experience and provided an excellent platform for a meaningful career in engineering.”