Established 1989

Abner Richard "Buck" Knight graduated from Ohio State University in 1909. In the period of 1909-1911 he served as a construction engineer and electrical engineer for the Springfield (Ohio) Light Heat and Power Company. From 1911-1913 he was an Instructor in Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1913 he joined the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Illinois as an Instructor. While teaching at the University he received an M.S. degree in 1917 and a professional E.E. degree in 1922.
Professor Knight's main teaching interests were in the field of electric circuits. He was coauthor of a text entitled "Introduction to Circuit Analysis" and was author of numerous articles in the field of power measurement. He retired after 41 years on the staff in September 1954 with the rank of Professor.
Professor Knight passed away November, 9, 1957.
The A. R. "Buck" Knight Award has been established by Miss Betty Ann Knight to honor the memory of her father, Prof. A. R. "Buck" Knight, who was a member of the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering from 1913 to 1954. Professor Knight was well known for his numerous contributions to campus and community affairs and for his concern for students. The award is given to a senior in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering who has demonstrated good scholarship and leadership in student activities that extend outside the College of Engineering.
a. Must be a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, enrolled in the Department of Electrical Engineering, and within one year of graduation at the time the award is made.
b. Must have demonstrated good scholarship through the junior year and have a grade point average in the top one half of his class.
c. Must have participated in campus student activities demonstrating leadership in one or more campus activities either as a designated officer or in some other recognizable manner.
d. Must have participated in activities outside of the College of Engineering such as music, athletics, student government, etc.
Applications for the award may be submitted online beginning in January of each year. A faculty committee will interview the finalists and make the final decision on the award recipient.
The award carries a stipend of $3000. The recipient is presented with the stipend check and a silver tac pin in the shape of a knight at the annual ECE Awards Banquet in April. The name of the recipient is engraved on a plaque to be displayed permanently in Everitt Lab.
| Year | Recipient | Year | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Thomas Hughes |
1993 |
Paula H. Alban |
| 2006 | Tonia Shen | 1992 | Darren F. Bronson |
| 2005 | Ritesh Parekh | 1991 |
Amanda J. Watson |
| 2004 | Nicholas McDonnell | 1990 |
Clark A. Miller |
| 2003 | Akshay Naheta | 1989 |
Thomas F. Nolan |
| 2002 | John M. Hebda | 1988 |
James P. Stapleton |
| 2001 | Brad Griffis | 1987 |
Neil S. Hirshman |
2000 |
Samantha Sutton |
1986 |
Tim W. Dittmer |
1999 |
Elise Sivilay |
1985 |
David A. Shafer |
1998 |
Erica Messinger |
1984 |
Laurie A. Watters |
1997 |
Brian S. Johnson |
1983 |
Jon C. Schmidt |
1996 |
Mark C. Hersam |
1982 |
Todd Z. Kopecky |
1995 |
Prabal Chakrabarti |
1981 |
David W. Archer |
1994 |
Andrew D. Skale |
1980 |
Alberto M. Segre |

Kara MacGregor
kmacgreg@uiuc.edu
153 Everitt Laboratory, MC-702
(217) 333-9706