Madani-Gordaninejad Speech Competition

Congratulations to our 2026 winners!

First place: Chanel Koh — "Flood MAR: Reducing Flood Risk, Improving Drought Resiliency and What We Need to Get There"
Second place: Elena Chau — "Chess: The Ultimate Game of Strategy and Life"  
Third place: Miles Haney-Lanuza — "Map of Opportunity: How Public Transit Decides Who Gets to Move Forward"

Two women and a man stand in a row, each holding up certificates.From left, 2026 Madani-Gordaninejad Speech Competition winners Elena Chau, Chanel Koh and Miles Haney-Lanuza.

About the competition

Head shot of Azita Gordaninejad.

Faramarz Gordaninejad, a Regents and Foundation professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department, retired in 2017 after 33 years of service to the University of Nevada, Reno. He established the Madani-Gordaninejad Speech Competition in memory of his wife, Azita Madani Gordaninejad, in 2018. The goal of the speech competition is to improve the communication skills of engineering students.

Past winners

  • 2025: Stephen Bard, Mechanical Engineering, "Advancing Roller Coasters with Adaptive Spike Motor Technology" 
  • 2024: Robert Gillespy, Mechanical Engineering, “The Total Solar Eclipse: An Unforgettable Spectacle”
  • 2023: Mark Marsala, Computer Science, “Overview of Security, Privacy, and Anonymity on The Onion Router Browser”
  • 2022: Erick Bandala Sanchez, Mechanical Engineering, “Printing the Future”
  • 2021: Olivia Tahti, Civil Engineering, “Still Water in Coal Run”
  • 2019: Mitchell Lane, Mechanical Engineering, “Rubik’s Cubes in Popular Culture”
  • 2018: Brett McMahan, Mechanical Engineering, “Why We Choose to be Comfortable Instead of Happy”