Andrew joined the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) in January 2019. Typically, new graduate students take some time, maybe a semester, to get adjusted and to understand how “things work” at the new University – not Andrew! Given his incredible spirit of initiative and enthusiasm, he joined the Power Delivery Innovation Group right away to become more involved and get a head-start on research. I still remember his bright smile and his discernible eagerness to learn at his first research group meeting! Extremely successful – top of the class – in all his graduate courses, he also soon became one of the most loved by faculty, students, and colleagues alike. Smart, diligent, and hard-working, while also being kind, fun-loving, cheerful, and inspiring: these are some of the wonderful characteristics that faculty and students expressed while remembering Andrew.

In Fall 2020, he completed his master’s project, titled “Voltage Regulation in Distribution Systems using Distributed Energy Resources”, which he also published and presented at a prestigious technical conference. He had tremendous potential as a power engineer. He graduated from our program with a 4.0 gpa and was selected as commencement speaker representing the Graduate School. In his remarkable commencement speech, Andrew showed a maturity and depth of character beyond his young age. He shared three powerful lessons: 1. Diversity of any kind is strength, 2. Life does not always go as planned, we would have to adapt, and 3. In the most challenging times, we lean on our friends, family, and community.

In this incredibly hard time of Andrew’s passing, we lean on his powerful lessons to find comfort. The Electrical and Computer Engineering department at UNC Charlotte, and all the faculty, colleagues, and friends Andrew’s life touched during his time here, will never forget him as one of the brightest alumni, with his contagious smile and love of life.

Dr. Valentina Cecchi, Associate Professor

Director of Graduate Programs

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte