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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2004
Contact: Linn LeBlanc
321-455-7011
Astronauts Award $160,000 in Scholarships to Outstanding Science and Engineering College Students Across the Country
Titusville, FL — The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation has selected an elite group of 16 college science and engineering students to receive its prestigious scholarship for the 2004–2005 academic year. Each will receive $10,000 — an increase from the $8,500 awarded in recent years.
"The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation strives to strengthen America's future by aiding these students in their pursuit of technological degrees," said Jim Lovell, Gemini/Apollo Astronaut and Foundation Chairman Emeritus. "The astronauts and I aspire, through this foundation, to preserve America as the leading country in science and technology. It's through students like these that America will be able to hold steadfast."
This will raise the total amount of scholarship money provided by the foundation to nearly $2 million. The original Mercury astronauts-John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper and Deke Slayton, established the organization in 1984 and the four living astronauts still serve on the board today.
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is a non-profit organization of more than 40 former astronauts who raise scholarship money through personal appearances, special events, corporate/individual donations and membership fees. Its headquarters is located in the Astronaut Hall of Fame, which is in Titusville, FL, adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center.
Here are the 2004—2005 Scholars:
Georgia Tech — Omar R. Mireles, from Chamberino, NM, is receiving his second ASF scholarship as a Master's candidate in Mechanical Engineering. His research includes work at NASA's Goddard and Marshall Space Flight Centers. He is studying system thermal management as it may be applied to fission space power and propulsion systems. After receiving his Master's, he plans to continue research on space fission power.
Harvey Mudd College — Adam Pivonka, from Billings, MT, is a senior majoring in Physics. He has been investigating theoretically and experimentally the photon noise that limits the image quality and acquisition speed of an optical coherence microscope.
Miami University (Ohio) — Mark Zimmerman, Grove City, OH, is receiving his second ASF scholarship as he enters his senior year majoring in Physics. His goal is a Physics doctorate and he expects to pursue alternate energy sources as a researcher or academic scientist. "My real passion," he writes, "is the advancement of alternative energy sources."
North Carolina A&T State University — Adero Wayne Paige from Winston-Salem, NC is a senior Physics major who is interested in a career in nuclear or biophysics. He ranked No. 1 this year in his Quantum Mechanics class, and a professor called him "one of the best who goes through our program." Two national presentations have been made in geophysics as a result of his work in an earlier undergraduate research program at Duke University.
North Carolina State — Patrick Garrett Keistler from Concord, NC, is a Master's candidate in Aerospace Engineering with a 3.96 GPA. He is involved in the development of a scramjet engine which allows vehicles to move faster than six times the speed of sound. For his doctorate, he plans to study computational fluid dynamics. Keistler says he would like to be involved in future space missions, whether it be a spacecraft, a rover or a Mars aircraft.
North Dakota State — Paul Samuel Haugen from Fargo, ND, is a senior with a double major in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics and a minor in Physics. After graduation from North Dakota State, he intends to begin a career in research while acquiring a Master's and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. His ultimate goal is to establish a career directing research for advanced technologies in the aerospace industry.
Pennsylvania State University — Rachel E. Miller from Annville, PA, is a senior in Bioengineering working in materials science, with a 3.98 GPA. Her goal is to become a professor of Bioengineering at a major research university to develop novel biomaterials related to her present work on hemocompatible devices. A professor writes in a recommendation letter that "she has the potential to make a strong impact in Bioengineering and biomaterials research."
Purdue University — Jayleen Lynn Guttromson from Fargo, ND, is a senior in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering with a 4.0 GPA. She is receiving her second ASF scholarship. She is an award-winning co-op at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and was voted Purdue's outstanding engineering student in her freshman, sophomore and junior years. She wants to become an astronaut and would "like to be the first woman to step on Mars."
Texas A&M — Benjamin Aurispa from Austin, TX, is a senior Mathematics major. He is in a "fast track" program to a Master's degree in which some undergraduate work counts as graduate study. His goal is a Ph.D. in Mathematics and to become a professor and researcher. "Mathematics is critical to our understanding of life," Benjamin writes. "Just to see the order in the Universe and the awesome working of equations excites me. For these reasons I look forward to a life studying and using mathematics."
Tufts University — Michele Cutrofello from Tamarac, FL, continues her outstanding work toward a Master's degree in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and her professors recommended that she receive an ASF scholarship for a second year. She has been doing research on an EPA-funded project to understand the key processes controlling the fate and transport of nitrogen and phosphorous on urbanized watersheds. She looks forward to a Ph.D. and a research-based career.
University of Colorado — Because one university did not send qualified candidates this year, two scholarships were awarded to Colorado, which nominated two exceptional students. Both of them are juniors majoring in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. They are:
Erin L. Reed from Longmont, CO, reports her experience as an intern at NASA's Johnson Space Center has provided practical experience in dealing with human space flight and left her "fascinated by the prospect of exploring other worlds. I hope to one day to use my experience to participate in sending a human beyond the grasp of Earth's gravity." A professor calls her "a star performer in our department."
Ashley Moore from Parker, CO, in addition to Aerospace Engineering Sciences she also is majoring in Applied Mathematics, with a 3.941 GPA. She writes, "I look into space and I see my future...I've focused my goal and want to work in the space industry, designing spacecrafts and probes that explore our universe. The robotics˙aspect of space exploration fascinates me." A professor writes, "She has a genuine desire to be a leader."
University of Kentucky — Adam Wayne Chamberlain from Winchester, KY, is a Master's candidate in Electrical Engineering and Nanotechnology. He served six years as a reactor operator on a nuclear submarine during which he earned a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering Technology. He hopes to finish a Ph.D. so he can teach "which I consider to be the most rewarding thing I have done in my career." He sees Nanotechnology "evolving at an exciting pace."
University of Minnesota — Craig Michael Lewandowski from Port Washington, WI, is a senior with a double major in Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering. His goal is to work in space-related technology, either with NASA or in industry — as long as that employment "encompasses innovative engineering characterized by a desire to defy limitations." He said if his career led to "sufficient astronaut qualifications, I would readily journey into space."
University of Washington — Louis Roy Miller Giersch from Port Angeles, WA, is a Ph.D. candidate in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, with studies on advanced plasma propulsion for spacecraft. He has developed a water-powered rocket and a rocket-powered car to demonstrate principles of space flight.
Washington University in St. Louis — Brian Alan Bauer from Chesterfield, MO, is a senior majoring in Aerospace Engineering. He has been working as student project manager for the Akoya Nanosatellite as part of a competition for NASA and other agencies. A full engineering model of Akoya must be presented in January 2005. He plans to take a graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering or Computer Science and become a career project manager. Eventually he plans to teach.