Faculty members from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering took home some impressive hardware Monday during the University of Florida International Center’s 2025 Global Awards ceremony.
The event was held as part of International Education Week and honors UF international education leaders, supporters, and mentors for their invaluable contributions in 2025.
Educator of the Year
Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Ana Maria Porras, Ph.D., won the International Educator of the Year Award for Junior Faculty. The center noted Porras integrates international perspectives into teaching, research and community outreach to prepare engineering students to tackle global health challenges.
In 2022, Porras launched Global Health in Biomedical Engineering, a groundbreaking graduate elective that bridges engineering, ethics and public health. Through debates, international guest panels and project-based learning, students explore how engineering addresses complex health inequities around the world. She expanded this work through a Virtual Exchange Program with Universidad Pontificia Javeriana in Colombia, connecting more than 100 UF and Colombian bioengineering students for cross-border collaboration on real-world health issues.