Sharon Kuo Receives Inaugural Madison ‘Maddie’ Magee Award for Undergraduate Excellence

Sharon Kuo
Sharon Kuo

Sharon Kuo, a graduating senior in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), is the inaugural recipient of the Madison “Maddie” Magee Award for Undergraduate Excellence.

Kuo, who is also minoring in Mathematics, comes to Penn from Taipei, Taiwan. Her interests within her major include mechanical design and product design, and she is passionate about space exploration and advancing human spaceflight.

This award will continue to be presented each year to a Penn Engineering senior who best exemplifies the energy, enthusiasm and excellence that was Maddie.

Read the full story in Penn Engineering Today.

The award for Undergraduate Excellence was established in honor of Madison “Maddie” N. Magee, who graduated with both a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) and a master’s degree in Bioengineering (BE) in 2021. Maddie passed away while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on May 28, 2022. Read more about this award here.

Announcing the Madison ‘Maddie’ Magee Award for Undergraduate Excellence

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Maddie MageePenn Engineering is proud to announce the establishment of the Madison “Maddie” Magee Award for Undergraduate Excellence, named in honor of the memory of Madison “Maddie” N. Magee, who graduated with both a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) and a master’s degree in Bioengineering (BE) in 2021. Following her time at Penn, Maddie joined the Integrative Baseball Performance department of the Philadelphia Phillies, where she collaborated with a group in developing the next generation of baseball players by analyzing biomechanics data.

To establish this award, 130 donors, including the Philadelphia Phillies, came together in 2022 to raise over $50,000, meaning that undergraduate students will be able to receive this award in perpetuity. Recipients will be Penn Engineering seniors who “exemplify the energy, enthusiasm, and excellence that was Maddie.”

“Maddie was full of life and promise and brought unmatched passion and spirit to everything she did,” says Kevin T. Turner, Professor and Chair of MEAM. “It was impossible to not see the impact that she was having on our Department and the School.” Magee excelled as a student at Penn, working as a Teaching Assistant at both Penn and Drexel and providing countless hours of tutoring to fellow students.

It is with deep gratitude for Maddie’s profound and lasting impact on many students, faculty and staff that this award is established.

Maddie passed away while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on May 28, 2022.

This story originally appeared in Penn Engineering Today.