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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Linn LeBlanc
321-455-7011
Sixty Former Astronauts Launch the Next Generation of Explorers
As seven space shuttle astronauts launched into orbit on Tuesday, 60 of their predecessors launched the dreams of 18 engineering and science college students by awarding them each with a $10,000 scholarship through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).
The astronauts chose students who exhibited exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major. The recipients were then notified of their scholarship for the 2006–2007 year by receiving a personal letter from the astronauts.
"Our goal is to inspire renewed interest in science and engineering careers here in the United States," said Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Chairman and Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden. "We are committed to encouraging the next generation of explorers. Our nation is strongest when we lead the world in innovation and invention."
Scholarship candidates are nominated by faculty members and reviewed by a board at 18 cooperating educational institutions. Two nominees from each school are submitted to the Foundation's committee. The selections are presented to the Foundation's directors for final approval. The ASF has awarded more than $2.3 million in scholarships to 211 students nationwide since 1985.
The recipients for the 2006–2007 year are:
Georgia Institute of Technology — Jarret Marshall Lafleur from Mapleville, Rhode Island, is a senior in Aerospace Engineering. Jarret was also chosen as a USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team, a distinction given to 20 students nationwide.
Harvey Mudd College — Samuel David Eisenberg from Minnetonka, Minnesota is a junior in Physics. At present, he is working with a group that studies the unsolved problems of magnetism.
Miami University — Gregory Ryan Newstadt from Louisville, Kentucky is a senior with a double major in Engineering Physics and Electrical Engineering. Greg has made major contributions to the efforts in simulating complex long-term evolution of the dynamics of solar system bodies. He also developed models of power loads for the International Space Station.
North Carolina A&T — Corey Julius Caldwell from Henrico, North Carolina is a senior in Chemistry. He is presently a student researcher with a publication pending. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. and continue research in Organic Chemistry.
North Carolina State University — Ryan Michael Field from Concord, North Carolina is a senior with a dual major in Electrical Engineering and Physics. He has developed mathematical models of microelectrode arrays that are implanted in biological tissue which may be able to help people regain lost capabilities due to injury or disability.
North Dakota State — Jonathan Pikalek from Fargo, North Dakota is pursuing his Ph.D. in Computer Science. His focus has been on military projects involving mission planning for unmanned air vehicles. His work can be applied to cooperation of lunar rovers, the scheduling of spacecraft operations, border patrolling, and conducting search and rescue operations.
Penn State University — Brian Christopher Schratz from Arnold, Maryland continues the Master's program in the field of Electrical Engineering. He has worked on rocket payloads and explored the design of interplanetary mission architecture. Brian plans to continue working on development of a scientific payload to study the space environment and has been asked to lead the effort to develop the first-ever student-designed mission to Mars.
Purdue University — Alexei Czeskis, originally from Russia, but is now a naturalized US citizen from Carmel, Indiana, is a senior with a dual major in Computer Science and Mathematics. He has developed innovative approaches to the problem of protecting personally identifying information, managed by computer systems, from the problem of identify theft.
Syracuse University — Christopher Gary Tarolli from East Syracuse, New York, is a senior with a double major in Chemistry and Spanish. Chris has studied plankton in Lake Erie using biochemical and biogeochemical techniques to identify the food web structure and phytoplankton biomarkers. Recently, Chris has turned his attention to single molecule analysis of replicated DNA, which has implications for cell differentiation and stem-cell research.
Texas A&M — Justin Wilson from Livingston, Texas is a senior pursuing dual majors in Math and Physics. For an undergraduate honors thesis, he will be studying vacuum energy in quantum graphics and expects to soon publish a scholarly article on the results of previous independent research.
Tufts University — Kyle Bradbury from Somerset, Massachusetts, is a senior in Electrical Engineering and is presently working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory implementing a custom timing generator board on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to be used as a component in the radar open system architecture project.
University of Central Florida — Brian Christopher Becker from Vero Beach, Florida, is a senior Computer Engineering major. He is presently participating in the design and programming of a self-navigating robot.
University of Colorado — William LeLand Willcockson from Morrison, Colorado, is a senior in Physics. He is involved with plasma physics research which has broad applications once perfected and revitalized the Society of Physics students at the university.
University of Kentucky — Ryan Gile Fischer from Hebron, Kentucky, is a senior in Biology and Agricultural Biotechnology. His present direction for research is in the field of molecular genetics that he proposes to follow in a Ph.D. program.
University of Minnesota — Alex John Kossett from Vadnais Heights, Minnesota is a junior in mechanical engineering. He is a robotics devotee who has designed and successfully tested a robot that can follow a path on the ground. He plans to publish his results soon.
University of Oklahoma — Ryan Anthoney East from Greenwood, Arkansas, is a junior in Aerospace Engineering. At the Cargo Integration and Operations Branch within the Mission Operations Directorate, Ryan was working on stowage and safety constraints aboard the International Space Station (ISS) developing graphics and location maps.
University of Washington — Nicholas William Reichert from Seattle, Washington, is a senior in Mathematics. He is very interested in using math to define new ways to conserve and preserve our natural resources.
Washington University — Andrew Burch Newman from Muscle Shoals, Alabama is a senior with dual majors in Physics and Mathematics. He studied light echoes from supernova 1987A that resulted in high-quality, detailed images of new light echo rings and its fine structure. Andrew is presently working on building a liquid xenon detector for particles of dark matter, the non-luminous matter which provides most of the mass of the universe.
The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1984 by the six surviving members of America's original Mercury astronauts. Its goal is to aid the United States in retaining its world leadership in science and technology by providing scholarships for college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major. ASF funds eighteen $10,000 scholarships annually and has awarded $2.3 million to 211 students nationwide. For more information log on to www.AstronautScholarship.org.