AE Honors Outstanding Students

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

AIAA Scholastic Achievement Award, to the senior graduating in May 2010 with the highest class GPA — Drew Ahern of Chicago, Illinois, and Ryan Kim of Seoul, Korea.

From left, student Ryan Kim, AE Prof. Lawrence A. Bergman, and student Drew Ahern.

H.S. Stillwell Memorial Award, to students showing outstanding scholastic achievement and contributions in extracurricular activities — Drew Ahern and Muktha Srinivasan ofRochester, Minnesota. 
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 theUniversity 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. 

From left, student Muktha Srinivasan, AE Prof. Gregory Elliott, and student Drew Ahern.

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

Robert W. McCloy Memorial Award, to a junior or first-semester senior student in recognition of outstanding academic performance — Eric Babcock of Palatine, Illinois, and Austin Nicholas of Naperville, 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.

From left, student Austin Nicholas, AE Assistant Prof. Daniel J. Bodony, and student Eric Babcock.

Dale Margerum Memorial Award, to the AE undergraduate who exemplifies outstanding leadership qualities by participation in departmental extracurricular activities — Jessica Wayer of Park Ridge, Illinois.
Dale Margerum was a 1979 graduate who died in an accident the summer after graduation.  He was very involved in extracurricular activities.

From left, student Jessica Wayer and AE Prof. John Lambros.

H.S. Stillwell Problem-Solving Scholarship, to a junior-level student majoring in aerospace engineering who exhibits exemplary problem-solving skills — Jared Daum of Decatur,Illinois. 

This scholarship was set up by a generous alum as a tribute to H.S. Stillwell and the role he played as a mentor to students.

From left, student Jared Daum and AE Assistant Director of Advancement Brett S. Clifton.

Roger A. Srehlow Memorial Award, to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research accomplishment — Scott Campbell of Champaign, Illinois. 
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.

From left, AE Prof. and College of Engineering Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Michael B. Bragg and student Scott Campbell.

Faculty Outstanding Graduate Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the Department’s teaching and/or research missions — Chris Martin of Brisbane, Queensland,Australia.

From left, AE Prof. Bruce A. Conway and student Chris Martin.

Kenneth Lee Herrick Memorial Fellowship, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research and academic performance — Manu Sharma of Torquay,Victoria, Australia.

From left, AE Assistant Prof. Joanna M. Austin and student Manu Sharma.

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

Illinois Space Grant Scholarships, awarded to undergraduate students by the NASA Illinois Space Grant Consortium based on the student’s academic performance —
Joseph Gonzalez
Gary Weber
Muktha Srinivasan

From left, student Muktha Srinivasan with Diane Jeffers, Associate Director of the Illinois Space Grant Consortium, and fellow students Joseph Gonzalez and Gary Weber.

Illinois Space Grant Fellowships, awarded to entering and continuing graduate students by the NASA Illinois Space Grant Consortium based on academic and research performance — 
Angelo Herrera of Cheyenne, Wyoming
Miles Johnson of Champaign, Illinois
Michael Rybalko of Hinsdale, Illinois
Robert Thomas II of Portage, Michigan
 

From left, Diane Jeffers, Associate Director of the Illinois Space Grant Consortium, with student Michael Rybalko.

Bronze Tablet, awarded to the top 3 percent of undergraduate students across campus —Drew Ahern.
The names of this select group of undergraduate students are inscribed on bronze tablets that are displayed on the first floor of the University of Illinois Main Library.

College of Engineering Mavis Future Faculty Fellows (MF3) Award, presented to facilitate the training of the next generation of top engineering professors. The program’s three main components are research, teaching and mentoring. Students in the program train to become proficient in these areas, and also select a capstone experience. — Craig G. Merrett ofOttawa, Ontario, Canada.

Gates Millennium Scholar, presented to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential — Kevin Hargrave.

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ (SHPE) National Student Role Model of the Year, recognizing academic excellence and outstanding contributions to the student SHPE chapter and the Hispanic community at large — Joseph Gonzalez.

College of Engineering Schlader Memorial Scholarship in Engineering — Stephanie Baker.

U.S. Department of Defense Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship — Jie Hua Lin.

Vincent A. and Janet O’Brien Scholarship, established in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by alumnus Vincent E. O’Brien to honor his parents, Vincent A. and Janet O’Brien — Sarah Cash.

Knight of St. Patrick, awarded to College of Engineering undergraduates for demonstrated leadership, academic excellence, and exceptional contributions to the College and its students — Joseph Gonzalez.

The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association General John A. Wickham Scholarship — Jie Hua Lin.

Ruth and Harold Hayward/Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Scholarship — Matthew Ducheck.

Boeing Women-in-Engineering Corporate Scholarship — Erin Anderson, Sarah Barretand Akishita Kakarlapudi.

NASA Graduate Student Research Program Fellowship — Jacob Englander of Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Morrill Engineering Program (MEP) Academic Incentive Award, to attract and retain aspiring engineers from underrepresented groups — Joseph Gonzalez.

College of Engineering William L. and Elizabeth A. Ackerman Scholarship — Daniel Niemeyer.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarship, for students in financial need who have demonstrated academic achievement and community involvement. — Joseph Gonzalez.

University of Illinois Joseph R. Larson Scholarship — Jie Hua Lin.

H.S. Stillwell Fellowship — Drew Ahern.

WYSE Academic Challenge Scholarship, awarded to winners or runners-up in the Worldwide Youth for Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge — Georgiy Nikiforov.

MVE-SHPE Extreme Engineering Competition — Emily Zalava and Michelle Diaz.

Future Leader of SHPE — Eric Carreras.

Anne Suratt Memorial Award, in honor of Anne Elizabeth Suratt, a senior in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the time of her death in 1997 — Elizabeth Chapman and Megan Danko.

Alliance/Merck Science Hispanic Scholarship, awarded to improve Hispanic student access to higher education and degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). — Joseph Gonzalez.

College of Engineering Calvin Barnes Niccolls Memorial Scholarship — Heath Reising.

College of EngineeringLTC Paul F. Drake Undergraduate Award — David Steckel.

Edward and Lillian Hussemann Scholarship — Gary Weber.

Boeing Engineering Diversity Scholarship — Eric Rodriguez and Viktoria Shikova.