When we last saw Punya Prakash, a well-spoken Texas Instruments engineer, she was coming off an impressive win during our annual Golden Mousetrap Awards.

Like Justine Haupt, Prakash, Design News' first-ever Rising Engineering Star, continues in the role that got her here, though it's been expanded a bit over the last couple of years.

I caught up with Prakash, 31, recently to see what else she has been up to since winning the award that recognizes up and coming engineers who are making a difference and influencing the design engineering community.

"I am currently still in the Processors Business (at TI) and manage our industrial IoT applications, relative to what I did before," she explained to me in an email. "My role has expanded to manage the automation solutions from TI for all of industrial applications, including factory automation & control, smart grid, and building automation."

Prakash recognizes the Rising Engineering Star award as the "tipping point" in her career. "A national level award recognizing your contributions to technology is definitely one of my proudest moments," she told me. "The core of engineering is in problem solving and from a very early stage I was very curious about the 'why' and the 'how.' Why something works the way it does and how it could be made better, primarily as it applies to real life applications. To understand the fundamentals and build upon them is essential for innovation in technology, and this is something that I am highly passionate about. To be appreciated for something one is passionate about only restores faith in one's abilities -- which is what the Rising Engineering Star award did!"

Prakash said she "absolutely" encourages others to enter the contest. "The primary reason I would encourage engineers to enter the contest is simply because it provides a great coast-to-coast platform to discuss your work. It is a great opportunity to share space with some of the top innovators in the country," she said.

Send your nominations for Design News' Rising Engineering Star to Jennifer Campbell today. Tell us, in detail, why your employee, friend, or co-worker deserves this award, and they may find themselves walking across the stage during our annual Golden Mousetrap Awards ceremony in Anaheim, Calif. Feb. 9, 2016.

Jennifer Campbell is an award-winning journalist and the executive editor of Design News.

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