AE recognizes student excellence in annual Awards Banquet

Meng Feng, winner of the AIAA Scholastic Achivement Award, with Assistant Prof. Kai James. (Not pictured, co-winner Jacob M. Dray)

Aerospace Engineering at Illinois recognized several of the Department’s undergraduate and graduate students this spring with awards for scholastic achievement and other contributions.

AIAA Scholastic Achievement Award, presented in fall and spring semesters to the graduating senior with the highest GPA  — Meng Feng of Des Plaines, Illinois (May 2017); and Jacob M. Dray of Wilmette, Illinois (December 2016)

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 — Paul Detrempe of Menlo Park, California

H. Everett Sutter Passion for Flying Scholarship, awarded to an AE undergraduate who is uniquely passionate about flying — Peter E. Rebholz of St. Louis, Missouri

Ryan Noe, winner of the H.S. Stillwell Memorial Scholarship, with Assistant Prof. Koki Ho.

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—Ryan M. Noe of East Peoria, Illinois; and Jonathan Zur of Encino, California

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 — Cassandra Kay Dickey of Yale, 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 — Yukti Kathuria of Sonepat, Haryana, India

Jonathan Zur, winner of the H.S. Stillwell Memorial Scholarship, with Associate Prof. Dan Bodony.

Michael W. Miller Aerospace Engineering Innovation Award, established to promote entrepreneurial ideas in the area of Aerospace innovation. This year’s award goes to the CAPSat CubeSat Team. — McKale F. Berg of Godfrey, Illinois; Dawn M. Haken of Champaign, Illinois; and Ethan T. Verebelyi of Tuscon, Arizona; Emilio Garcia of Urbana,Illinois; Channing P. Philbrick, Jr. of Evanston, Illinois; Richard J. Kunde of Urbana, Illinois

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 — Noel C. Brindise of Deer Park, Illinois; Katherine M. Carroll of Urbana, Illinois; and Ethan L. Clemmitt of Wilmette, Illinois

Peter Rebholz, winner of the H. Everett Sutter Passion for Flying Scholarship, with Prof. J. Craig Dutton.

AE Alumni Advisory Board Fellowship, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research, academic performance, and research accomplishments — Gavin K. Ananda of Ampang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Faculty Outstanding Graduate Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the Department’s teaching and/or research missions — Drew Ahern of Chicago, Illinois

Kenneth Lee Herrick Memorial Award, presented annually to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research and academic performance — Antoine B.E. Blanchard of Duclair, France

Preston A. Henne Aerodynamics Fellowship in Aerospace Engineering, established to fund a graduate student in the area of aerodynamics. — Or D. Dantsker of Wyckoff, New Jersey

Cassandra Dickey, winner of the H.S. Stillwell Problem Solving Scholarship, with Prof. J. Craig Dutton.

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

• Boeing Engineering Diversity Scholarship – Natalie C. Pfister of Rolling Meadows, Illinois; Kyle A. Schildgen of Mount Prospect, Illinois, Wesley J. Warton of Burr Ridge, Illinois
• Calvin Barnes Niccolls Memorial Scholarship – Nicholas J. Zuiker of Crestwood, Illinois
• Edward E. and Lillian Hussemann Memorial Scholarship – Andres Cuevas of Chicago, Illinois
• Edward E. and Elizabeth Joanne DeZwarte Engineering Scholarship – Alec J. Cepeda of Oswego, Illinois; Braulio Gomez of Chicago, Illinois
• Engineering Excellence Scholarship – Joshua V. Daniel of Des Plaines, Illinois; Steven L. Kosvick of Bolingbrook, Illinois; Nicole A. Zaworski of Northbrook, Illinois
• Engineering Freshman Scholarship – Brenda A. Reyn of Libertyville, Illinois

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  Yukti Kathuria, winner of the Jo Ann Haynes Platt and Daniel Wall Platt Memorial Award, with Coordinator of Undergradaute Program Laura Gerhold
  Engineering Visionary Scholarship – Noel C. Brindise of Deer Park, Illinois; Quinn A. Calvert of Elgin, Illinois; Ian M. Charter of Bonfield, Illinois; Anthony V. Cloe of Lake Villa, Illinois; Alberto Davila, Jr. of Crest Hill, Illinois; William Donaldson of Metropolis, Illinois; Jamie L. Fredrick of Worth, Illinois; Nathan P. Griffin of Lockport, Illinois; Alejandro Linan of Chicago, Illinois; Mason W. Metzkes of Boca Raton, Florida; Stefan Milovancevich of Maple Park, Illinois; Ryan M. Noe of East Peoria, Illinois; Erik D. Nord of Belvidere, Illinois; Oscar E. Ortiz of Chicago, Illinois; Raimon Roglans of Naperville, Illinois; Mateusz R. Slowik of Chicago, Illinois; Ash Stahulak of Wheaton, Illinois; Benjamin D. Steele of Bradley, Illinois; Martynas G. Vasiliauskas of Tinley Park, Illinois; Stephen M. Vrkljan of Naperville, Illinois
• Illinois Engineering Achievement Scholarship – Destiny M. Fawley of Bloomington, Illinois; Elizabeth M. Fleming of Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Robert Morales of Plainfield, Illinois
• Illinois Engineering Enhanced Scholarship – Jack M. Johnson of Marengo, Illinois; Nicklaus O. Richardson of Maryville, Illinois

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  McKale F. Berg, winner of the Michael A. Miller Aerospace Engineering Innovation Award, Assistant Prof. Zach Putnam, and co-winner Richard Kunde. Not pictured are co-winners Dawn Haken, Ethan Verebelyl, Emilio Garcia and Channing Philbrick, Jr.
  Illinois Engineering Premier Scholarship – Logan B. Brodhead of Maroa, Illinois; Mark J. Esquivel of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Andrew Franco of Cicero, Illinois; Brandon T. Murchison of Grayslake, Illinois; Noah A. Quinones of Hennepin, Illinois
• Joanne and Roger L. Plummer Scholarship – Jonathan D. Tomaszkiewicz of Rockford, Illinois
• PATHWAYS Engineering Scholarship – John W. Batke, Jr., of Wheaton, Illinois; Joel J. Khristy of Naperville, Illinois; Moiz Vahora of Chicago, Illinois
• Robert M. Stephens Engineering Scholarship – Kristen L. Brusich of Plainfield, Illinois; Sara E. Kochanski of Bensenville, Illinois
• William L. and Elizabeth A. Ackerman Scholarship – Edward Guan of Dunlap, Illinois; Connor J. Latham of Lakemoor, Illinois; Emily A. Tokarski of Barrington, Illinois
• WYSE Academic Challenge Scholarship – Joshua Reeder of Orland Park, Illinois
• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Undergraduate Team Space Design Competition – First Place, Team Alma: Kyle Weiskircher, Michael A. Busch of Wichita, Kansas; Samyak T. Shah of Streamwood, Illinois; Andrew Slowik, Jacob Denton, Matthew E. Crisman of Champaign, Illinois; Andrew Holm; Second Place, Team LoCATE: Matt Ciastro, Joseph Lasser, Caite (McCarthy) Beck, Joseph Mueller, Jeffery Pekosh, Seth M. Zelman of Mount Vernon, Illinois; Third Place, Team TRIDENT: Sam Forgerson, Mihir J. Patel of Bloomington, Illinois; Jiby Mamen, Scott Neuhoff, Sabeeh Butt, William J. Kazakis of Des Plaines, Illinois

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  Noel Brindise, winner of the R.W. McCloy Memorial Award, with Director of Undergraduate Programs Brian Woodard.
  Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Fellowship – Antoine B.E. Blanchard of Duclair, France
• Diffenbaugh Fellowship – Patrick J. Sears of Urbana, Illinois
• Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship – Imran Hayat of New York, New York
• Give Something Back Foundation Award – Alberto Davila, Jr., of Crest Hill, Illinois
• 2016 IEEE/ION Position Location and Navigation Symposium Best Paper Award – Yuting Ng (with Assistant Prof. Grace X. Gao)
• Illinois Space Grant Fellowship – Ryne T. Beeson of Lake Forest, Illinois; Gabrielle E. Wroblewski of LaSalle, Illinois
• Illinois Space Grant Scholarship – Jorge Aranda of Gurnee, Illinois; Noel C. Brindise of Deer Park, Illinois; Katherine M. Carroll of Urbana, Illinois; Sara Legg of Naperville, Illinois; Lawrence E. Sheridan of Ottawa, Illinois; Jonathan Zur of Encino, California
• ION GNSS+ Conference Best Presentation of the Session – Sriramya Bhamidipati (with AE Assistant Prof. Grace X. Gao)

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  Katherine Carroll, winner of the R.W. McCloy Memorial Award, with Director of Undergradaute Programs Brian Woodard.
  Korean Government Scholarship & 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) NSF Travel Award – Kyung Yun Choi of Champaign, Illinois
• 2016 NASA BIG Idea Challenge – First place: Austin P. Scott of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Samuel J. Wywrot of Lombard, Illinois; Jose Mari Tuason, Steven L. Kosvick of Bolingbrook, Illinois; Sashang Gummella, Faculty advisor Zachary R. Putnam
• 2016 NASA Robotic Mining Competition Best Systems Engineering Paper – Illinois Robotics in Space team: Kaushik S. Ponnapalli of Champaign, Illinois; Deepa A. Kote of Frankfort, Illinois; Branden M. Kirchner of Champaign, Illinois; Gooyoung Jung of Tucson, Arizona; Byron B. Hopps of Winnetka, Illinois; Andrews Rodriguez Reina, Christina Choi of Mahwah, New Jersey; Daniel L.A. Woodall of Lebanon, Ohio; Jacob R. Drewniak of Rolla, Missouri; Karman P. Joshi of Carol Stream, Illinois; Malhar S. Jere of San Jose, California; Dean E. Romanchek of Lake Forest, Illinois; Adana Pappas, Alen E. Golpashin of Buffalo Grove, Illinois; Berkan Bolkan of Urbana, Illinois; Brandon D. Powers of Grover, Missouri; Brandon Woods, Brooke Polak of Warrenville, Illinois; Da-Yae Frail of Kewanee, Illinois; Dong Hoon Kang of Champaign, Illinois; Grant Brucker of Lake Forest, Illinois; Jean Won Park Kwak of Gangnam-Gu Seoul, Jeffrey Jun of Champaign, Illinois; Jiby Mamen, Joseph M. Stelter of Chicago, Illinois; Jordan Konick, Liam R. Power of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Lian Lu, Maximilian Sieb, Michael A. Kopera of Tinley Park, Illinois; Nathan L. Havens of Lisle, Illinois; Sang A. Lee, Tianyang Zheng of Shanghai; Ying Chen, Zhendong Yang of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Faculty advisor Brian Woodard

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  Ethan Clemmitt, winner of the R.W. McCloy Memorial Award, with Department Head Philippe Geubelle.
  2017 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF) – Przemyslaw Rostkowski of Waukegan, Illinois
• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship – Branden M. Kirchner of Champaign, Illinois
• 2016 Research Live! Finalist – Kyung Yun Choi of Champaign, Illinois
• Society of Plastic Engineers Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition Graduate Scholarship – Srikanth Raviprasad of Champaign, Illinois
• Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocketry Competition – Second Place, Women in Aerospace at Illinois: Katherine M. Carroll of Urbana, Illinois; Melanie A. Ciancio of Urbana, Illinois; Ian M. Charter of Bonfield, Illinois; Sara E. Kochanski of Bensenville, Illinois; Sara Legg Dopico of Naperville, Illinois; Christopher G. Lorenz of Roselle, Illinois; Lui Suzuki of Irvine, California
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Chapter of the Year Award – Illinois Space Society
• University of Illinois Bronze Tablet (Top 3 percent of college graduating class) – Meng Feng of Des Plaines, Illinois; Jake J. Goldrich of Skokie, Illinois; Alex James of Reston, Virginia; Arthur C. Lapin of Orland Park, Illinois
• Yee Fellowship – Hao Chen of Champaign, Illinois
• Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship – Revathi Jambunathan of Urbana, Illinois

   

  

  Gavin Ananda, winner of the AE Alumni Advisory Board Fellowship, with Prof. Michael Selig.

  

  Drew Ahern, winner of the Faculty Outstanding Graduate Student Award, with Prof. Emeritus Rod Burton.

   

Or Dantsker, winner of the Preston A. henne Aerodynamics Fellowship in Aerospace Engineering, with Prof. Michael Selig.

Antoine Blanchard, winner of the Kenneth Lee Herrick Memorial Award, with Mechanical Science and Engineering Prof. Alexander Vakakis, left, and AE Emeritus Prof. Larry Bergman, right.