AE celebrates student excellence

AE recognized several of the Department’s undergraduate and graduate students this spring with awards for their scholastic achievement and other contributions.

AE Boeing Scholarships, one-year awards for an incoming freshman based on outstanding academic performance — Emilio Gordon of Chicago, Illinois, and Ashley M. Stahulak of Wheaton, Illinois

AIAA Scholastic Achievement Award, presented in fall and spring semesters to the graduating senior with the highest GPA  — Jacob N. Denton of St. Elmo, Illinois; and Kevin Kim of Wilmette, Illinois

Dale Margerum Memorial Award, honoring1979 graduate Dale Margerum, who was very involved in extracurricular activities and who died in an accident the summer after graduation. The award is presented to an undergraduate who exemplifies outstanding leadership qualities by participation in departmental extracurricular activities — Alexander W. Case of Lake Villa, Illinois

H. Everett Sutter Passion for Flying Scholarship, awarded to an AE undergraduate who is uniquely passionate about flying — Arthur C. Lapin of Orland Park, Illinois

H.S. Stillwell Memorial Scholarship, presented in memory of Prof. H.S. Stillwell, founder of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and head of the department from its inception in 1944 until his death in 1976. The scholarship is presented annually to an undergraduate student in recognition of outstanding scholastic achievement and extracurricular activities—Clayton J. Summers of Mount Carmel, Illinois

H.S. Stillwell Problem-Solving Scholarship was established by a generous alumnus as a tribute to H.S. Stillwell and the role he played as a mentor to students. It is given to a junior-level or first-semester senior majoring student majoring in aerospace engineering who exhibits exemplary problem-solving skills — Paul DeTrempe of Menlo Park, Illinois

Jo Ann Haynes Platt & Daniel Wall Platt Memorial Award, presented to the sophomore, junior or senior female undergraduate James Scholar and/or Chancellor’s Scholar studying aerospace engineering — Allery Pam C. Hsu of the Philippines

Robert W. McCloy Memorial Award, presented in memory of Prof. R.W. McCloy, who served on the faculty from 1945 to 1977, and was the first faculty member hired in the new Department of Aeronautical Engineering. He was known for his research and teaching in propulsion and for his pioneering work in jet propulsion. The award is presented to a junior or first-semester senior student in recognition of outstanding academic performance — Jacob N. Dray of Wilmette, Illinois; Meng Feng of Des Plaines, Illinois; and Thomas R. Smith of Bolingbrook, Illinois

AE Alumni Advisory Board Fellowship, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research, academic performance, and research accomplishments — Ruizhi Li of Hunan, China

Faculty Outstanding Graduate Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the Department’s teaching and/or research missions — Brent W. Pomeroy of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Kenneth Lee Herrick Memorial Award, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research and academic performance — Joseph M. Gonzalez of Chicago, Illinois

AE students also recently have garnered awards from several other organizations.

Team Award – Illinois Space Society SEDS Satellites Around Mars Design Competition — Alexandra N. Bacula of Oak Park, Illinois; Alexander W. Case of Champaign, Illinois; Zachary T. Fester of Steelville, Missouri; Brian P. Hardy of Springfield, Illinois; Yukti Kathuria of Sonepat, Haryana, India; Andrew D. Koehler of Springfield, Illinois; Chris G. Lorenz of Roselle, Illinois; Steven J. Macenski of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Joseph C. Miceli of Barrington, Illinois; Jordan M. Murphy of Elk Grove Village, Illinois; Jeffrey D. Pekosh of West Chicago, Illinois; Kaushik S. Ponnapalli of Nashua, New Hampshire; Lui Suzuki of Irvine, California; Kelsey R. White of Downers Grove, Illinois

Aerospace Freshman Scholarship — Nicole A. Zaworski of Northbrook, Illinois

AIAA Wilbur and Orville Wright Outstanding Graduate Student Award — Brent W. Pomeroy of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

The Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation Scholarship — Violet A. Kamber of Elgin, Illinois

CSE 2015-2016 Fellowship Award — Antoine B.E. Blanchard of Duclair, France; and Qi Dang of China

Dissertation Completion Fellowship — Brent W. Pomeroy of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and Hoong Chieh Yeong of Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Engineering Excellence Scholarship — Nicole A. Zaworski of Northbrook, Illinois

Engineering Premier Scholarship — Ashley M. Stahulak of Wheaton, Illinois

Frank Smith Scholarship — Paul DeTrempe of Menlo Park, Illinois

Fundac’n Bancaria “la Caixa” Fellowship — Andres Rodriguez Reina of Madrid, Spain

H.L. Wakeland Undergraduate Leadership Award — Catherine M. McCarthy of Houston, Texas

Hayward/Ruth Tau Beta Pi Scholarship — Brandon L. Litherland of Allendale, Illinois

Illinois Distinguished Fellowship — David R. Brandyberry of Champaign, Illinois

Illinois Space Grant Scholarship — Brandon L. Litherland of Allendale, Illinois

Knights of St. Patrick — Catherine M. McCarthy of Houston, Texas

Boeing NACME Scholarship — Michael L. Espinal of Itasca, Illinois

Carver Fellowship — David R. Brandyberry of Champaign, Illinois

College of Engineering Mavis Future Faculty Fellows (MF3) — Gavin K. Ananda Krishnan of Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia; Andy D. Borum of High Point, North Carolina; and Robyn L. MacDonald of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Korean Government Scholarship Program for Study Overseas Fellowship — Kyung Yun Choi of Seoul, South Korea

NASA Aeronautics Scholarship — Max A. Feinberg of Deerfield, Illinois

NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF) — Rebecca Foust of Columbia, Maryland; and Robyn L. MacDonald of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship — David R. Brandyberry of Champaign, Illinois

Pathway Engineering Scholarship — Joel J. Khristy of Naperville, Illinois

President’s Award Program Honors — Ashley M. Stahulak of Wheaton, Illinois

Robert M. Stephens Engineering Scholarship — Brandon L. Litherland of Allendale, Illinois

Director of Undergraduate Programs Brian Woodard and Brent Pomeroy, winner of the Faculty Outstanding Graduate Award

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Fellowship — Konuralp Yigit of Izmir, Turkey

Senior 100 Honorary — Melanie A. Ciancio of Villa Park, Illinois; and Michael S. Miller of Decatur, Illinois

SURGE Fellowship — Polette J. Centellas of Springfield, Virginia; Manue Martinez, Jr., of Chicago, Illinois; and Jose Sepulveda of Bakersville, California

Tau Beta Pi National Scholar Award — Brandon L. Litherland of Allendale, Illinois

Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Junior Award — Jake J. Goldrich of Skokie, Illinois