Kaitlyn Stankiewicz, undergraduate program coordinator for the College of Engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Catherine F. Pieronek Women in Engineering Impact Award. This year’s award carries special significance, marking the 10th anniversary of the honor and a decade of celebrating those who empower women in the field.
The annual award recognizes a faculty or staff member in the Notre Dame College of Engineering “who has made a dramatic positive impact on women’s engineering experience” through teaching and mentoring; service and support; and advocacy for women in engineering.
Award recipients are selected based on feedback from women graduate and undergraduate students in engineering.
“Kaitlyn Stankiewicz is the first person who comes to mind for this award,” one student commented. “She has been consistently present and engaged in ways that have directly improved the experience of women in engineering at the University of Notre Dame.”
Others highlighted her reliability and leadership within the Graduate Society of Women Engineers Notre Dame, noting that her “steady involvement and thoughtful contributions have had a clear, positive impact on our organization and the broader SWE (Society of Women Engineers) community.”
Students specifically pointed to her “willingness to step in where needed” and her transition into an advisory role as a reflection of her “continued commitment to supporting graduate women engineers in a sustained way.”
The award honors the memory of Catherine F. Pieronek, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering, who pioneered and was Notre Dame’s first director of Women in Engineering.
Previous recipients include:
- 2025 — Todd Taylor, Summer International Engineering and Integrated Engineering and Business Practices Program
- 2024 — Shreya Kumar, Computer Science and Engineering
- 2023 — Tijana Milenkovic, Computer Science and Engineering
- 2022 — Ramzi Bualuan, Computer Science and Engineering
- 2021 — Jennifer Schaefer, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- 2020 — Liz Kerr, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- 2019 — Pinar Zorlutuna, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
- 2018 — Ashley Thrall, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
- 2017 — Victoria Goodrich, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
—Karla Cruise, Notre Dame Engineering. Photo by Wes Evard, Notre Dame Engineering.