NASA SPACE TECHNOLOGY GRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY
UCF broke its own record this year when 16 students and alumni were named National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellows, and an additional seven received honorable mentions. Three of those recipients and four of the honorable mentions came from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Several other MAE students have been selected for prestigious fellowships with NASA, the Department of Defense, and Virgin Galactic, among others. Learn more about all of these students and how UCF prepared them for the fellowship experience.
NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWS
Jake Carter ‘19 B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Brendon Cavainolo B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
Robert Greene ’20 B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
T he NSF Graduate Research Fellowship started in 1952 and was the first graduate research program of its kind. Almost 50 years later, the program
is still going strong with more than 13,000 applicants this year. Three of the awardees from UCF are MAE students as are four of the honorable mentions: mechanical engineering doctoral student Jessica Baker ‘20, aerospace engineering doctoral student Jacklyn Higgs, aerospace engineering doctoral student and alumnus Zachary Stein ‘20 and mechanical engineering undergraduate student Zachary Whitacre. “I have added confidence about the skills I have,” Whitacre said. “UCF research opportunities have opened doors for me to grow as a person and a researcher in my field.”
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Caroline Anderson Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
A s a child growing up on the Space Coast, Caroline Anderson ’19
would stand in her backyard and watch the space shuttles launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Her lifelong passion for space, coupled with mentorship from several local women who worked as engineers in the space sector, led her to pursue a career in aerospace engineering. Now, Anderson will move from a spectator to an actor in the space industry through the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTGRO) program. She is one of 58 participants across the nation selected for a fully funded fellowship open only to graduate students at accredited U.S. universities who demonstrate the potential to assist NASA in creating new and innovative space technologies. “I’m so excited to learn from and work with leading engineers in my field, as we’re on path for a new era of human space exploration,” says the Palm Bay, Florida, native. “I’ve wanted to work with the NASA Ames aerothermodynamics branch, and this fellowship opens the door to do so while I develop my doctoral thesis.” Anderson will work on a project that she proposed in collaboration with a NASA subject matter expert who will assist her with the research. As a space enthusiast, she says this experience is a dream come true.
