Ryan Green, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’19), who completed his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering at VCU in 2019, has been recognized for excellence in teaching at Mississippi State University (MSU).

Green has been an assistant professor at MSU since 2019. His research focuses on smart-city communications, Internet of Things, optically transparent communication devices and wireless medical telemetry.

Green received a 2021 Outstanding Teaching Award, presented in May by MSU’s chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers and Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education.

“My students are my passion,” Green said. “When I am meeting with them, either one-on-one or in class, I make sure they are getting my best instruction and that they are equipped to serve their community with a more finely tuned skill set. I am so humbled to be recognized by these two fantastic organizations.”

He was honored for his contributions to helping retain more underrepresented students in the university’s STEM programs.

Green is a longtime diversity proponent. In summer of 2020, when Mississippi legislators decided to remove Confederate symbols from the state flag, he submitted a new flag design that became one of five finalists selected from a pool of nearly 3,000 submissions.

Green’s doctoral adviser at VCU was Erdem Topsakal, Ph.D., professor and chair in VCU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“After having earned his Ph.D. from VCU Engineering, for Ryan to be promoting diversity and inclusion in the heart of Mississippi is something that we should all be proud of. It shows how VCU and its College of Engineering’s commitment to those values can positively impact others across the U.S.,” Topsakal said.