2017 Outstanding Mentor of the Year

Dr. Kapil Dandekar

Professor Kapil Dandekar is a professor in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering, as well as director of the Drexel Wireless Systems Laboratory. His current research interests and publications involve wireless, ultrasonic, and optical communications, reconfigurable antennas, and smart textiles. Dr. Dandekar holds several patents in the area of wireless systems, and intellectual property from DWSL has been licensed for use in commercial products. In 2007, Dandekar received the ECE Outstanding Research Award from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and in 2015, he received the Outstanding Research Award from the College of Engineering at Drexel University.

“Dr. Dandekar goes out of his way to help us students and makes sure we are comfortable with our projects, that we’re having fun doing it and suggests ways we can improve it. He…answers our questions, gives us alternatives, provides us more information than we asked for and, best of all, treats us like accountable adults instead of…freshmen doing menial projects.”

“The core values that he advocates and exemplifies can be seen in every aspect of the Drexel Wireless Systems Laboratory. The positivity, trust, and patience of Dr. Dandekar is unrivaled by any other faculty mentor.”

“He commends our work to encourage us to do better, yet he simultaneously makes sure to praise work that has been developed through substantial effort—thus inpsiring us to work extremely hard for his appreciation. Lastly, Dr. Dandekar helps us expand our thinking by suggesting additional factors we should consider. He demonstrates how important it is to think through different perspectives and to encompass the most we can through our creations here at the Wireless Systems Lab.”

- Jui Hanamshet, Joshua Cohen, Brent Lee, Manniska Kshettry & Saloni Purswani