4/1/2013 Written by Susan Mumm
Written by Written by Susan Mumm
AE recognized several of the Department’s undergraduate and graduate students this spring with awards for their scholastic achievement and other contributions.
AIAA Scholastic Achievement Award, to the senior graduating in May 2012 with the highest class GPA — David W. Slaby of Edwardsville, Illinois, and graduating in December 2012 - William A. Garlisi of O’Fallon, Illinois, and Cameron T. Jones of Dixon, Illinois.
H.S. Stillwell Memorial Award, to students showing outstanding scholastic achievement and contributions in extracurricular activities — Eric A. Anden of Hinsdale, Illinois, and Ryan A. Smoot of Bloomington, IL.
The H.S. Stillwell Memorial Award was established in honor of Professor H.S. (Shel) Stillwell. At the age of 27, Professor Stillwell founded the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Illinois in 1944. He served as department head at Illinois for 32 years. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, he served as Head of the Aeronautical Engineering Department at the University of Kansas prior to coming to Illinois. Professor Stillwell was influential in the design of the first ramjet-powered missile and was highly respected for his contributions to aerospace engineering education.
Robert W. McCloy Memorial Award, to a junior or first-semester senior student in recognition of outstanding academic performance —Jeffrey B. Lawson of Bloomington, Illinois, and Paul R. Schlais of Gurnee, Illinois.
Professor McCloy was the first faculty member hired in the new Dept of Aeronautical Engineering. He was known for his research and teaching in propulsion and for his pioneering work in jet propulsion.
Dale Margerum Memorial Award, to the AE undergraduate who exemplifies outstanding leadership qualities by participation in departmental extracurricular activities — David J. Hanley of Orland Park, Illinois, and Jordan B. Holquist of Springfield, Illinois.
Dale Margerum was a 1979 graduate who died in an accident the summer after graduation. He was very involved in extracurricular activities.
Jo Ann Haynes Platt & Daniel Wall Platt Memorial Award, to the AE sophomore, junior or senior female undergraduate James Scholar and/or Chancellor’s Scholar studying aerospace engineering — Kaitlin R. Vahling of Newton, Illinois
H.S. Stillwell Problem-Solving Scholarship, to a junior-level student majoring in aerospace engineering who exhibits exemplary problem-solving skills — David J. Hanley of Orland Park, Illinois, and Akash A. Shah of Mumbai, India.
This scholarship was set up by a generous alumnus as a tribute to H.S. Stillwell and the role he played as a mentor to students.
Rockwell-Collins Scholarships, awarded to sophomore or junior-level AE students in recognition of outstanding academic performance —Erin K. Anderson of Aurora, Illinois, Brandon P. Boyce of Crystal Lake, Illinois, and A. Spencer Gore of Naperville, Illinois.
AE Academic Scholarship, a 4-year scholarship awarded to an incoming freshman based on outstanding academic performance — Jacob R. Dluhy of Riverside, Illinois.
Illinois Space Grant Scholarships, awarded by the NASA Illinois Space Grant Consortium to entering and continuing undergraduate students based on academic performance — Eric A. Anden of Hinsdale, Illinois, and Eric A. Lopez of Los Angeles, California.
Richard R. Sladek Scholarships, awarded to Aerospace Engineering students based on financial need — Michael A. Passaro of Elk Grove Village, Illinois; Kelaine P. Patterson of Sugar Grove, Illinois; Brandon M. Vlach of Chicago, Illinois; and Shannon M. Weber of Westmont, Illinois.
Roger A. Strehlow Memorial Award, to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research accomplishment — Jacob Englander of Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
The award is presented annually to honor Professor Strehlow, who joined the aero faculty in 1961. His background was in chemistry, and he was an acknowledged expert in the field of detonations and explosions. He also made significant contributions toward the understanding of the structure, stability, and extinction of laminar premixed flames. He was an early advocate of microgravity combustion research and successfully characterized the extinction and flammability states of flames under microgravity conditions. Professor Strehlow was the first AIAA Fellow in the Department of Aerospace Engineering.
Faculty Outstanding Graduate Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the Department’s teaching and/or research missions —Andrew B. Swantek of Norwood Park Township, Illinois
Kenneth Lee Herrick Memorial Award, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research and academic performance —Takashi Tanaka of Kiryu, Japan
AE Alumni Advisory Board Fellowship, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research, academic performance, and research accomplishments —Ravi Kumar R. Tumkur of Tamkur, India.
AE students also recently have garnered awards from several other organizations.
Bronze Tablet Awards, recognizing high academic achievement and awarded to the top 3 percent of undergraduate students across the U of I campus. The names of this select group of students are inscribed on bronze tablets displayed on the first floor of the Main Library.
December 2011
- Erik P. Babcock of Palatine, Illinois
- Ryan J. Merriman of Park Forest, Illinois
- Ziyi Wang of Nanjing, China
May 2012
- Prateek Arora of Sainik Farms, New Delhi
- David W. Slaby of Edwardsville, Illinois
- Ryan A. Smoot of Bloomington, Illinois
Knight of St. Patrick, awarded by the student-administered Engineering Council in recognition of student leadership and contributions to the College of Engineering — Eric A. Anden of Hinsdale, Illinois.
Anne Elizabeth Suratt Memorial Scholarship, honoring Suratt who was a student at the University of Illinois from 1994 to 1997. Suratt died in a tragic airplane crash in May 1997 at Willard airport, where she was training to acquire flight instrument ratings. She was scheduled to leave the following week to work at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Research facility in Maryland. Suratt was involved in campus programs to promote space studies, especially remote sensing of the environment. She gave numerous talks to elementary and secondary schools, as well as on campus, to promote awareness of remote sensing and how useful the technologies were to studying environmental problems. The scholarship fund was created by Suratt’s parents, relatives and friends to fund annual scholarships designated for a junior, senior or fifth year undergraduate interested in space studies and/or earth sciences, and whose major field of study includes at least one of these areas —Nikhil Agarwal of Gilberts, Illinois.
University Achievement Scholarship — Peter J. Grega of Ramsey, Minnesota
Engineering Excellence Scholarship — David R. Brandyberry of Mahomet, Illinois, and Jacob R. Dluhy of Riverside, Illinois
Engineering Freshman Scholarship — Gil Shohet of Acton, Massachusetts
Tau Beta Pi Scholarship — Brandon P. Boyce of Crystal Lake, Illinois
Illinois Engineering Enhanced Scholarship — A. Spencer Gore of Naperville, Illinois, and Jessica T. Lauzon of Sandwich, Illinois
Edith and Harry Darby Leadership Scholarship — Akash A. Shah of Mumbai, India
Vincent E. O’Brien Iroquois County Scholarship — Sarah J. Cash of Danforth, Illinois
International Titanium Association Scholarship — Robert C. Reid of Lees Summit, Missouri
William L. and Elizabeth A. Ackerman Scholarship provided through a gift to the College of Engineering in honor of William Ackerman, a 1934 graduate in Mechanical Engineering — Daniel E. Niemeyer of Columbia, Illinois
Calvin Barnes Niccolls Memorial Scholarship to honor the memory of Calvin Niccolls, a student in the College of Engineering from 1895-1897 — Heath H. Reising of Edwardsville, Illinois
Engineering Diversity Program Scholarship — Gary R. Weber, Jr. of Crystal Lake, Illinois
Fred Eggers Engineering Scholarship provided through a gift to the College of Engineering in honor of Fred Eggers, a 1939 graduate in Mechanical Engineering — Wilbur E. Shirley of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Gil Shohet of Acton, Massachusetts
AE Boeing Scholarships
- Erin E. Ahern of Hinsdale, Illinois
- David R. Brandyberry of Mahomet, Illinois
- Rosemary F. Chapple of Fults, Illinois
- Jessica T. Lauzon of Sandwich, Illinois
- Kevin M. Reyes of Chicago, Illinois
- Gil Shohet of Acton, Massachusetts
AE Boeing Scholarship from Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
- Abigail E. Atkinson of Joliet, Illinois
- Ryan J. Merriman of Park Forest, Illinois
- Richard J. Orozco of Calumet City, Illinois
- Daniel J. Park of Roscoe, Illinois
- Heath H. Reising of Edwardsville, Illinois
- Jennifer A. Roderick of Taylor Ridge, Illinois
College of Engineering Boeing Scholarships — Erin E. Ahern of Hinsdale, Illinois, and Jessica T. Lauzon of Sandwich, Illinois
Mavis Future Faculty Fellows (MF3) developed in the College of Engineering to provide the opportunity for those doctoral students interested in engineering teaching as a profession to gain experience in the focus areas of research, teaching and mentoring. Each award will be $5,000 with an additional $1,000 available to support travel — Abhishek Gupta of Patna, India, and Phillip Ansell of York, Pennsylvania.
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship — Anthony M. Coppola of Sussex, New Jersey, and Joseph Kim of Glenview, Illinois.
NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship — Daniel J. Morgan of Madison, Wisconsin
Best Student Paper Award at Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) Conference — Takashi Tanaka of Kiryu, Japan.