UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Ram Narayanan, professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2025 Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award.
The award honors and recognizes outstanding achievement by a faculty member with at least five years of service who effectively guides junior faculty. Howard Palmer was the senior associate dean of the Graduate School from 1984 to 1991.
Nominators called Narayanan “a driving force behind the success of many junior and mid-career faculty in his department.” They said his selfless dedication to fostering the academic, professional and personal growth of those around him is exemplary, making him an exceptional case for the mentoring award.
“Narayanan strongly believes that every individual has unique potential and that a mentor’s role is to help uncover and cultivate that potential,” a nominator said. “His approach to mentoring is deeply personalized and one-on-one, focusing on understanding each mentee’s strengths, aspirations, and challenges. His mentoring approach is not merely restricted to providing advice but about building a relationship based on trust, respect and mutual learning. It also includes two-way mentoring where he willingly accepts advice from his mentee.”
For both students and faculty, nominators said, his door is always open.
“Whether it is helping a student navigate a difficult course, advising a junior faculty member on grant writing or providing career advice to a colleague, Narayanan approaches each interaction with empathy, patience and a genuine desire to help others succeed,” a nominator said.
He’s particularly known for assisting with research development, grant writing and teaching, frequently leading workshops on the topics.
One of his most significant contributions, nominators said, is in the creation of a formal mentoring program for junior faculty. Nominators said he saw the need and worked tirelessly to put the program in place. It’s been a success, nominators said, and has been instrumental in helping junior faculty members achieve tenure and promotion, and it has fostered a more collaborative and supportive departmental culture.
“His contributions to the mentoring and development of junior faculty, particularly in the area of research funding, are extraordinary,” a nominator said. “He is a role model, a trusted colleague and a true mentor in every sense of the word. I have no doubt that his efforts have had a lasting impact on the careers of many faculty members, and he is most deserving of this award.”