Student Awards
2026: Renée DePencier Piñero (aero PhD student) was selected as a Smead Scholar (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2026: Renée DePencier Piñero (aero PhD student) received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award to support her doctoral studies (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2026: Marielle Lenehan (aero MS student) received a NASA Johnson Space Center Pathways Intern Employment Program Award in recognition of exemplary performance during her summer internship.
2026: Vennela Gottiparthy (aero MS student) received a NASA Johnson Space Center Pathways Intern Employment Program Award in recognition of exemplary performance during her summer internship.
2026: Caroline Austin (aero PhD candidate) received a NASA Johnson Space Center Pathways Intern Employment Program Award in recognition of exemplary performance during her summer internship.
2026: Anna Cabra (aero PhD student) won 1st place in the oral presentation competition at the NASA Exploration Science Forum (advisor, Prof. Nabity).
2026: Anna Cabra (aero PhD student) won 2nd place in the student poster competition out of over 25 posters at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES).
2026: Nicole Rote (aero PhD student) received a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowship (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2026: Amrita Singh (aero PhD candidate) received a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowship (advisor, Prof. Nabity).
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2025: Joe Hesse-Withbroe (aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTGRO) Fellowship (advisor, Prof. Arquilla)
2025: Nicole Rote(aero PhD student) received a PhD Fellowship from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory to support her doctoral studies (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2025: Aaron Allred (aero postdoc) won the Space Medicine Association Journal Publication Award for the most outstanding space medicine article published in the Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance Journal in the last year. The paper is titled, "A Hand-Eye Based Post-Spaceflight Sensorimotor Impairment Assessment using Augmented Reality."
2025: Caroline Austin (aero PhD student) won the PhD Student Best Presentation Award at the 2025 Vestibular-Oriented Research Meeting for her presentation titled "Systematically Altering Dynamic Tilt Perception with Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation" (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2025: Taylor Lonner(aero PhD student) received a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowship. Taylor was also awarded the department's Outstanding Service Graduate Award (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2025: Vicki Hurd (aero PhD student) won the Best Research Award in Medical Education and Training from the Academy of Emergency Ultrasound for her paper titled "Artificial Intelligence Assistance in Point-of-Care Ultrasound Skill Retention for Novice Users in Space Medicine Scenarios" (advisor, Prof. Hayman).
2025: Benjamin Reynolds(aero undergraduate student) won 3rdplace in the undergraduate student poster competition at the 2025 NASA Human Research Program's Investigators' Workshop for his poster titled, "Enabling the Real Time Application of Cognitive State Models" (advisor, Prof. Hayman). Nicole Rote(aero PhD student) and Priyanka Vasu (aero MS student) both won $25,000 Grant Augmentation Competition Awards at IWS as well. Nicole's proposal was titled, "Modeling Recognized and Unrecognized Spatial Disorientation with Physiological Measures," and Priyanka's proposal was titled, "Evaluation of Anticipatory Cues to Mitigate Motion Sickness during Simulated Astronaut Post-Flight Landings." Both Nicole and Priyanka are advised by Prof. Clark.
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2024: Aaron Allred(aero PhD student) was awarded the Department of Aerospace Engineering Outstanding Graduate Research Award (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2024: Erin Richardson(aero PhD student) received a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowship (advisor, Prof. Hayman).
2024: Vicki Hurd(aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) fellowship and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship (advisor, Prof. Hayman).
2024: Sarah Leary(aero PhD student) received a PhD Fellowship from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory to support her doctoral studies (advisor, Prof. Arquilla).
2024: Amrita Singh(aero PhD student) and Ella Schauss (aero PhD student) finished 3rd out of the finalists inNASA's Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) at the inaugural Human Lander Challenge Forum in Huntsville, Alabama. Their project was titled "Lunar Surface Assessment Tool (LSAT): A Simulation of Lunar Dust Dynamics for Risk Analysis", and they were advised by Dr. James Nabity.
2024: Patrick Pischulti(aero PhD student) won 3rdplace in the graduate student poster competition,Sage Sherman(aero postdoc) won 1stplace in the postdoctoral fellows poster competition, andCaroline Austin(aero PhD student) won a $25,000 Grant Augmentation Competition Award at the 2024 NASA Human Research Program's Investigators' Workshop. Patrick's abstract was titled "Simulation of an Autonomous Anomaly Response Architecture for Human Deep-Space Exploration Missions",Sage's abstract was titled "A Trade Study of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Techniques for Use on Long Duration Spaceflight Missions", and Caroline's proposal was titled "Modeling Perceptual Changes Following the Sickness Induced by Centrifugation Analog." As part of her award, Caroline Austin was also invited to present at the European Low Gravity Research Association Biennial Symposium & General Assembly in Liverpool, UK this September.
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2023: Erin Richardson(aero PhD student) won 2nd place in the student poster competitionat the 8th annual AIAAIntellegent Systems Workshop. Erin's abstract was titled "Physiological Modeling of Trust, Workload, and Situation Awareness of Remote Spacecraft Operators."
2023: Savannah Buchner(aero PhD student) won 2nd place in the student poster competition,and David Temple (postdoc) won 2nd place in the postdoctoral fellows poster competition at the 2023NASA Human Research Program's Investigator's Workshop. Savannah's abstract was titled "Virtual Reality to Visualize and Display Uncertainty in Spaceflight Operations for Mission Control Personnel", while David's abstract was titled "Systematic Assessment of Noisy Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation as a Sensorimotor Countermeasure."
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2022: Kaitlyn Hauber(aero MS student) and Sage Sherman (aero PhD student) won 1st and 3rd place, respectively, in the student poster competition at the 2022 NASA Human Research Program's Investigator's Workshop. Kaitlyn's abstract was titled "Characterizing Non-Invasive Biometric Sensors for Use in Task Performance Prediction and Operational Design", while Sage's abstract was titled "Investigating Cognitive Enhancement with Stochastic Resonance."
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2021: Kieran Smith(aero PhD student) received a PhD Fellowship from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award to support his doctoral studies (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2021: Jamie Voros(aero PhD student) received a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowship (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2021: Bharath Tata(aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) fellowship (advisor, Prof. Nabity).
2021: Victoria Kravets(aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) fellowship (advisor, Prof. Clark).
2021: Abhishektha Boppana (aero PhD student) and Rachel Rise (aero PhD student) won 1st and 2nd place, respectively, in the student poster competition at the 2021 NASA Human Research Program's Investigator's Workshop. Abhi's abstract was titled "Dynamic Body Shape Models to Reduce Risk of EVA Spacesuit Injury", while Rachel's abstract was titled "Identifying Stochastic Resonance in perceptual Threshold Estimation Performance."
2021: Abhishektha Boppana(aero PhD student) won 1st place in the student poster competition at the 2021 International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) for his poster titled "Development of a Spacesuit Boot to Improve Boot Fit"(advisor, Prof. Anderson).
2021: Jordan Dixon(aero PhD student) received a Young Inventor's Award at the 41st Annual International Society of Gravitational Physiology meeting for his presentation titled "A computational tool for real-time detection of astronaut spatial disorientation during gravitational transitions and piloted landings"(advisor, Prof. Clark).
2021: Jordan Dixon(aero PhD student) was selected to participate in the NASA ISEB delegation, and the Space Generation Congress delegation at the 72nd International Astronautical Congress (advisor, Prof. Clark).
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2020: Annika Rollock(aero PhD student), received a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowship (advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2020: MC Dorbecker (aero PhD student) took 2nd place in the Graduate Student Competition at the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) annual meeting for her lightning talk “Modeling crew performance degradation due to radiation exposure in space.”
2020:Mike Van Akin (aero PhD student) won the Ross McFarland Student Award from the Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Branch of the Aerospace Medicine Association. This was awarded for his abstract on ocular changes that occur with posture and fluid shift in relation to SANS. It’s awarded for the best student abstract representing a significant achievement in biomedical engineering.
2020:Jacob Kintz(aero PhD student) received first place in the student poster competition held at the NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop in Galveston, Texas for his poster titled "Unobtrusive Measurement and Autonomous Estimation of Human Internal Cognitive States"(advisor, Prof. Clark)
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2019: Jordan Dixon(aero PhD Student), recieved an Aerospace Medical Association Fellows Scholarship Award for his journal article titled, "Integration of a Vestibular Model for Disorientation Research Device Motion Algorithm Application"(advisor, Prof. Clark)
2019: Jordan Dixon(aero PhD Student), recieved the Most Innovative Student Research Award for his paper presented at the 63rd Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA. His paper wasentitled "A Mathematical Model-based Metric of Spatial Disorientation for Use in Active Countermeasures" (advisor, Prof. Clark)
2019:Abhishektha Boppana(aero PhD student), received the Martyn Shorten Award for Innovation at the 14th Biennial Footwear Biomehcanics Symposium, held in Kananskis, Alberta.This award notably is not specifically a student award. (advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2019: Mike Lotto(aero PhD candidate), received 3rd place in the student poster competition heldat the 49thInternational Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) in Boston, MA,for his work titled “CO2 Capture with Two Ionic Liquids and Implications for Mars ISRU”(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2019: Young-Young Shen(Aero PhD candidate), received the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Graduate Award(advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2019: Mike Lotto(aero PhD candidate), received the AIAA Neil A. Armstrong Graduate Award(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2019: Mike Lotto(aero PhD candidate), CU Geologic SciencesHartmutSpetzlerGraduate Student Research Award to participate in a project titled “Understanding Mars’AstrobiologicalPotential with a Hyperspectral Imager on a UAS”(with Prof.Hynek, Geology)
2019: Katie Bretl(aero PhD student), received aZontaAmelia Earhartfellowship(advisor, Prof. Clark)
2019: Mike Lotto(aero PhD candidate), received the Department’s John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2019: Mitch Woolever(aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF)(advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2019:Jordan Dixon(aero PhD student) received first place in the student poster competition held at the NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop in Galveston, Texas for his poster titled ‘Validation of a New Ground-Based Analog for Post-Spaceflight AstronautNeurovestibularImpairment: The Wheelchair Head Immobilization Paradigm’ (advisor, Prof. Clark)
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2018: Jordan Dixon:(aero PhD student), was selected to participate in the NASA ISEB delegation at the 69th International Astronautical Congress (advisor, Prof. Clark)
2018: Kimia Seyedmadani:(aero PhD student), received a NASA Johnson Space Center Graduate Intern Outstanding Achievement Award
2018: Kimia Seyedmadani:(aero PhD student), received a NASA Johnson Space Center Innovation Challenge SF Grant Award
2018: Luis Zea(aero PhD 2015) received the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Thora Halstead Young Investigator’s Award (advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2018: Mike Van Akin(aero PhD student) received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award(advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2018:Katya Arquilla(aero PhD student) received ascholarship for women in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) awarded from the Women Forward in Technology Scholarship Program (advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2018: Tobias Niederwieser(aero PhD candidate), received the AIAAOrville and Wilbur Wright Graduate Award(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2018: Emily Matula(aero PhD candidate), received the AIAA Neil Armstrong Graduate Award (advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2018: Emily Matula(aero PhD candidate), receivedthe Aerospace Department’s John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award(advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2018: MCDorbecker(aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF)(advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2018: Abhishektha Boppana(aero PhD student andSmeadFellow), received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award(advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2018: Jordan Holquist(aero PhD candidate), received a Fulbright grant to study at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) from September 2018 to July 2019 (advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2018: Jordan Dixon(aero PhD student) received a PhD Fellowship from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA to support his doctoral studies (advisor, Prof. Clark)
2018: Katya Arquilla(aero PhD student) received a PhD fellowship from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA to support her doctoral studies (advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2018:Jordan Dixon(aero PhD student) received first place in the student poster competition held at the NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop in Galveston, Texas for his poster titled ‘Preliminary Validation of the Wheelchair Head Immobilization Paradigm (WHIP) as an Analog for Post-Flight Sensorimotor Impairment’ (advisor, Prof. Clark)
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2017: Jordan Dixon(aero PhD student)received the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award(advisor, Prof. Clark)
2017:Abhishektha Boppana(aero PhD student)was selected as aSmeadScholar(advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2017: Roger Huerta(aero MS student) received theBalsellsFellowship in May of 2017. The program’s main goal is to prepare the most talented young engineers and scientists from Catalonia in their pursuit of post-graduate degrees and post-doctoral studies in engineering or computer sciences in the US.(advisor, Prof. Anderson)
2017:Kathrine (Katie) Bretl(aero PhD student) received a 2017 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF) award for her proposal titled ‘A Conceptual Design and Concept of Operations for Intermittent, Short-Radius Centrifugation for Artificial Gravity’ (advisor, Prof. Clark)
2017: Melinda Zavala(aero MS student) was selected to be a Hispanic Scholarship Foundation (HSF) Scholar and awarded a scholarship from the foundation
2017:Katya Arquilla(aero PhD student, advisor, Prof. Anderson) andChristine Escobar(aero PhD student, advisor, Prof. Nabity) were two of the first 16recipients of scholarships for women in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) awarded from the Women Forward in Technology Scholarship Program
2017: Abhishek Kumar(aero MS student) andKatya Arquilla(aero MS/PhD student) were selected to participate in the Space Station Design Workshop, an international, interdisciplinary week-long event held each summer in Stuttgart, Germany
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2016: Tobias Niederwieser(aero PhD student) received a PhD Fellowship from theGerman Academic Scholarship Foundation (StudienstiftungdesdeutschenVolkes) for his proposal titled ‘Feasibility of an algalphotobioreactorfor combinedbioregenerativefunctionality of air revitalization, waste water treatment and food production in a space habitat.’ (advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2016: Jordan Holquist(aeroPhD student), received first place in the student poster competition held at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) in Vienna, Austria, for his poster titled “Ionic Liquids Selection and Initial Test Results forElectrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction”(advisor, Prof. Klaus). This was his third year of placing in this competition!
2016: Ben LewisandKrishan Patel(aero MS students) were selected to participate in the Space Station Design Workshop, an international, interdisciplinary week-long event held each summer in Stuttgart, Germany
2016: Emily Matula(aeroPhD student),received an American Association of University Women's (AAUW) Brown/Ricketts/UdickGraduate Scholarship for women pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Colorado, (advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2016:Daniel Case(aero PhD student) received a 2016 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF) award for his proposal titled ‘Passive Radiation Shielding: Integrating Multilayer and Multipurpose Materials into Space Habitat Design’ (advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2016: Michael Lotto(aero PhD student) received a 2016 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF) award for his proposal titled ‘Assessing the Feasibility of using Co-electrolysis with Task-Specific Ionic Liquids to Produce Methane and Oxygen for Martian In-Situ Resource Utilization’ (advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2016: Vanessa Aponte(aero PhD 2006), Lockheed Martin, received the Ҵýƽ Recent Alumni Award(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2016:Tobias Niederwieser(aero PhD student) was selected to participate in the Space Studies Program (SSP) of the International Space University (ISU). The 8 week program will be conducted in Haifa, Israel. He received a combined full scholarship to attend the ISU summer program from the European Space Agency (ESA), Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, the Association of Austrian Space Industries (AUSTROSPACE), the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as well as the JuliusRaabFoundation,(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2016:Daniel Case(aero PhD student)was selected to participate as a student for the 2016 NASA Space Radiation Summer School to be held at Brookhaven National Laboratory.The course is designed for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty with an interest in radiation biology(advisor, Prof. Nabity)
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2015: Kyle Borg(aero MS student) was selected to participate in the Space Station Design Workshop, an international, interdisciplinary week-long event held each summer in Stuttgart, Germany
2015:Evan Thomas(aero PhD 2009), Assistant Professor at Portland State University, received the CU-Boulder Alumni AssociationKalpanaChawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2015:Jordan Holquist(aero PhD student) student received 2ndplace presented a poster titled “Opportunities and Challenges for Direct Oxygen Generation using Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction Catalyzed by Room Temperature Ionic Liquids,” at the 45th International Conference on Environmental Systems in Bellevue, WA (advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2015:Joseph S. Butterfield(aero MS student) was selected to participate as a student for the 2015 NASA Space Radiation Summer School to be held at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY from June 3-26.The course is designed for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty with an interest in radiation biology
2015:A team of CU AES grad students (Jonathan Anthony, Matthew Milanese, Tobias Niederwieser, William Tandy, Kaitlin McIntosh, Lauren McManus, Charles "Zeke"Bretchel, Sean Napier, advised by Professor Klaus, were selected to participate in the 2015 NIA/NASA RASC-AL Competition held in Cocoa Beach, Fla., in June for their proposal titled ‘Delphi: A Lunar Architecture to Enable Exploration, Research, and Commercial Development of Space beyond LEO’received ‘Best in Theme’ award for lunar architecture
2015:Evan Thomas(aero PhD 2009), Assistant Professor at Portland State University, received the CU College of Engineering and Applied Science Recent Alumni Award(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2015:Kirstyn Johnson(aero BS/MS student) received a CU College of Engineering and Applied Science, Distinguished Senior Award, graduating with a 4.0 cumulative GPA – the first AES student to do so since 1982!
2015: Emily Matula(aero PhD student) received a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF)(advisor, Prof. Nabity)
2015:Bill TandyandHenna Jethani(aero MS students) were selected to participate in the 2015 Caltech Space Challenge held in Pasadena, CA from March 22-27. This theme for this year was to design a mission to land humans on an asteroid brought back to lunar orbit, extract the asteroid's resources and demonstrate their use.
2015:Chris Nie(aero BS/MS student) participated in the Space Horizons 2015 annual workshop held at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, February 18-19. The workshop was focused this year on assessing how proven facilities in Antarctica can be used as operational analogs for sustainably supporting human missions to the moon or Mars.
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2014: Luis Zea(aero PhD candidate) received the "Student Investigator Spaceflight Award" from the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) during the American Society of Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Conference in Pasadena, CA.(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2014:In July the second annual Startup Weekend Space was held in San Jose, California, fielding ten teams dedicated to “the development of space technologies and broader conceptual understanding of space, or “outer-worldly ideation aroundNewSpace.”The winning team wasBioCube, led byChristine Fanchiang(aero PhD candidate), which was conceptualized as a line of cube satellites intended to help biologists study organic materials in space.(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2014:A team of CU AES grad students (CollinBezrouk,GeimiDelarge, Christine Fanchiang, Roger Huang, Karla Rosario, Megan Scheele, and EricThreet, advised by Professor Klaus) were selected as finalists in the Mars Society’s ‘Inspiration Mars Student Design Contest’ for their proposal titled ‘Mars Approach Vehicle and Earth Return for Interplanetary Crew (MAVERIC): An Innovative, Robust, and Simple Architecture for a Mars Flyby Mission. Ten finalist teams from Japan, India, Russia, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and the United States were selected from 38 entries and are invited to present their mission concepts at the 17th Annual International Mars Society Convention to be held this August in League City, Texas near the NASA Johnson Space Center.Christine Fanchiang, Roger Huang and EricThreetprepared the final presentation, with Roger and Eric travelling to Houston to present the results. MAVERIC received 2ndplace overall!
2014: Christopher Nie(aero BS/MS) andTobias Niederwieser(MS) were selected as part of Aviation Week/Raytheon’sTomorrow’s Engineering Leaders-The Twenty20s
2014: Jordan Holquist(aero PhD student) received aNASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF)(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2014:Kier Fortier(aero BS/MS) was selected to participate in the NASA Student Ambassador Program
2014: Elise Kowalski(aero MS) received aJeppesenScholarship for 2014-2015 to study at theTechnischeUniversitätDarmstadt in Germany, where she will take courses in mechanical engineering and human factors, followed by an internship next summer atJeppesenin Frankfurt.
2014: Christine Fanchiang(aero PhD candidate) was one of two students sponsored by the Boulder, Colorado chapter of P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) to receive a P.E.O. Scholar Award, a $15,000 merit-based scholarship for women from the US and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral level degree at an accredited college or university.P.E.O. is one of the pioneer societies promoting educational opportunities for women, founded in 1869.(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2014:Two CU teams of aerospace grad students advised by Professor Klaus were selected to participate in the 2014 NIA/NASA RASC-AL Competition held in Cocoa Beach, Fla., in June: "Enabling the space frontier by implementation of a low mass cis-lunar outpost" or LITEHABS (Asa Darnell, Tobias Niederwieser, Elliot Russell, Chris Christensen, Christine Fanchiang, Jonathan Anthony, Chris Nie,andMatthew Milanese) and "ECLIPSE: TheExplorartoryCis-Lunar Laboratory for Interplanetary Sample Extraction" (Jake Adams, Adam Brown, AdamCarahalios, ZacharyCuseo, Elyssa Kaszynski, Josh Smith, RyderWhitmire, Eric Provo, Elise KowalskiandChris Walsh). The LITEHABS team tied for 1stplace in the graduate division!
2014: Luis Zea(aero PhD candidate) received a Fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to conduct research at the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) in Cologne, Germany from February through August, 2014.His research involves characterizing the effects of spaceflight on microbial drug resistance(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2014: Mike Lotto(aero BS/MS) was selected by the National Space Club as the 2014 recipient of the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Scholarship(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
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2013: Mike Lotto(aero BS/MS) received the Paul M. &BurgetteA. Hart Scholarship(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2013: Geoffrey King(aero MS) received a postgraduate scholarship from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada for the 2013/14 academic year
2013: Tobias Niederwieser(aero MS) was selected to receive sponsorship from AUSTROSPACE (Association of Austrian Space Industries) for his studies abroad (at CU) contributing to space technologies and applications in the area of space science(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2013: Jake Gamsky(aero MS),Kirstyn Johnson(aero BS/MS) andMike Lotto(BS/MS) were selected as part of Aviation Week/Raytheon’sTomorrow’s Engineering Leaders-The Twenty20s
2013: Christine Fanchiang, aerospace PhD student, received a NASA Harriett G. Jenkins Graduate Fellowship(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2013: Christopher Nie(aero BS/MS) was selected for the NASA Student Ambassador Program
2013: Christopher Nie(aero BS/MS) received a UMC Schafer Leadership Scholarship
2013:Jordan Holquist(aero MS) received a third place award in the AIAA 2013 ICES student poster competition for his poster titledCharacterization of a Potassium Superoxide-based Air Revitalization System for Crewed Spacecraft(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2013: Christine Fanchiang, aerospace PhD student, received an Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship for the 2013/14 academic year(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2013:A team of CU aero grad students (Heather Hava, Jordan Holquist, Christine FanchiangandGriffin Hale) along withMatthew Carton(CUmecheng) andKeira Havens(CSUmicrobio) advised by Professor Nikolaus Correll received first place for their project titledBioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) for Long Duration Human Space Missionsin the 2013 NASA/NIA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) graduate design competition held in Cocoa Beach, FL. They were also recognized with the ‘Best Advanced Concepts’ award.
2013:Luis Zea,aerospace PhD candidate, received the AIAA’s Orville and Wilbur Wright Graduate Award for the 2013–2014 academic year(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
2013:Stefanie GonzalezandLuis Zea,both aerospace PhD students, were selected to participate in the MIT/SkoltechSpace Exploration Strategy program, a joint initiative between MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics andSkolkovoInstitute of Science and Technology. Areas of research include exploration ideology and rationale, missionplanning, advanced in-space propulsion systems, long-duration crew health and life support systems, and surface exploration systems. The first segment of this project includes students collaborating and developing mission objectives.Luis Zeawas also invited as part of a select group to travel to Moscow, Russia for a week-long workshop. The final report will be disseminated at the InternationalAstronauticalCongress in Beijing, China.
2013:Stefanie Gonzalez, aerospace PhD student, received an NSF Fellowship to support her research.(advisor, Prof. Ferguson)
2013:Stefanie Gonzalez(aero PhD student) andAshley Williams(aero MS student) were selected to participate with students from around the world as part of the Caltech Space Challenge, which took place from March 25-29 in Pasadena, CA. The teams were tasked with designing a human mission to a Martian moon in 5 days. World-renowned scientists were invited to educate the students on topics such as; planetary science, orbital mechanics, and space physiology.
2013:Mike Lotto(aero BS/MS) received a national Goldwater Scholarship, recognizing sophomores and juniors who have achieved high academic merit and demonstrated leadership potential.(advisor, Prof. Klaus)
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2012: Kirstyn Johnson(aero BS/MS) received the Women in Aerospace (WIA) Foundation Scholarship for the 2012/13 academic year
2012:Mike Lotto(aero BS/MS) received the Outstanding NASA Co-op Award
2012:Mike Lotto(aero BS/MS) received theLanisand CarmenPinchukStudent Leader Scholarship
2012: Christine Fanchiang,aerospace PhD student, received an Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship for the 2012/13 academic year
2012: Chris Massina, aerospace PhD student, received aNASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF)
2012:A group of CU undergraduate students (Mike Lotto, Andrew Broucek, Kirstyn Johnson, Chris NieandKyle Shannonfrom Aerospace, andJaredYenzerfrom ECE) were selected to participate in NASA’s 2012 Reduced-Gravity Education Flight Program to conduct their experiment titledValidating the Gravity Dependence of the Churchill-Chu Correlation for Free Convective Heat Transfer from a Finite, Flat Plate:A Study of the Effects of Gravity on Free Convective Heat Transferduring parabolic flights.Prof. Klaus was the faculty advisor for the project.
2012: Two groups of Bioastronautics students and a third team from CU including international collaborators were selected as finalists in the 2012 NASA/NIA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) design competition and presented their projects in Cocoa Beach, FL, with travel funding provided by NASA. The teams and students are shown below. Joe Tanner, Dan Scheeres and Dave Klaus were the advisors, respectively.
•Extraterrestrial Outpost (ExO): Design and Implementation of a Long-Term Sustainable Lunar Habitat(1stPlace)
Stuart Tozer, Christine Fanchiang, NicholasZinner, ZacharyGrunder, JoshuaImobersteg, FelixBidnerandLee Jasper
•Human Exploration of Near Earth Asteroids -- A Revolutionary Mission Architecture(2ndPlace)
CU:SimonTardiveland Yu Takahashi
Delft University of Technology:Jon Herman(incoming CUPhdstudent),JonReijneveld, Katie Dunlop
University of Stuttgart:Aline Zimmer
•Human Intervention for a Low-Earth-Orbit Interference-Free Environment (HI-LIFE)
AdamLeppek, LanceMarkovchick, Lydia McDowellandThomas Snow
2012: Robert Ocampo, aerospace PhD student, received the CU Aerospace Engineering Sciences Graduate Student Service Award
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2011: Mike Lotto(aero BS) was selected as a NASA Student Ambassador
2011: Christine Fanchiang,Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Rocky Mountain Section Pioneer Scholarship
2011:Sarah Over, aerospace MS student, received an American Association of University Women (AAUW) Selected Professions Fellowship
2011:Heather Hava, aerospace MS student, received an American Association of University Women (AAUW) Selected Professions Fellowship
2011:Luis Zea, aerospace PhD student, received the aerospace engineering sciences Graduate Student Service Award.
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2010: Mike Lotto(aero BS) Outstanding NASA Intern Award
2010:Jonathan Metts, aerospace PhD student, received the Aerospace Department’s John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award
2010:Jonathan Metts, aerospace PhD student, received a first place award in the student poster competition held during the 40th Annual International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), an AIAA forum held from July 11-15, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.His poster was titled ‘Electrochromic Radiator Impact on ApolloSublimatorWater Consumption.’ This was the third year in a row that he placed in the ICES poster competition!
2010:Jennifer Mindock,aerospace PhD student, received aZontaInternational Amelia Earhart Fellowship for the 2010-2011 academic year.
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2009:Ryan Kobrick, aerospace PhD student, received the Aerospace Department’s John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award
2009:Jonathan Metts, aerospace PhD student, received a second place award in the student poster competition held during the 39th Annual International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), an AIAA co-sponsored event, in Savannah, GA from 12-16 July 2009.His poster was titled ‘Electrochromic Radiators for Space Suits: Preliminary Testing Results.’
2009:Jennifer Mindock, aerospace PhD student, was awarded a NASA Graduate Student Research Program fellowship for her proposal titled, "Defining a Failure Mode-based, Multivariate Risk Index to Assess Human Spacecraft Safety and Reliability."
2009:Jennifer Mindock, aerospace PhD student, received an Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship
2009:Ryan Kobrick, aerospace PhD student, received an Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship.
2009:Jonathan Metts, aerospace PhD student, received an Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship.
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2008:Kennda Lynch, MS aerospace 2008, received a NASA Harriet Jenkins Fellowship.
2008:Jonathan Metts, aerospace PhD student, received 4th place recognition in a student poster competition held at the 38th International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) in San Francisco in July for his poster titled ‘Application of Electrochromic Materials for Active Space Suit Thermal Control’.
2008:Jonathan Metts, aerospace Ph.D. student, received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant.
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2007:Andrea Hanson, aerospace Ph.D. student, received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant.
2007:Ryan Kobrick, aerospace PhD student,received a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Fellowship.
2007:Jonathan Metts, aerospace PhD student,received a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Fellowship.
2007:Kevin Higdon, aerospace PhD student,received a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Fellowship.
2007: AES PhD studentsJonathan MettsandBruce Davis, received a Runner Up award at the PISCES Lunar Outpost National Student Design Competition held in Hilo, HI (advised by Prof Klaus)
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2006:Ryan Kobrick, aerospace PhD student, received the AIAA John Leland Atwood Graduate Award. His research involves development of Advanced Space Suit Technologies with an emphasis on lunar dust mitigation strategies.
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2005:James Russell, aerospace PhD candidate, received the AIAA John Leland Atwood Graduate Award.
2005:Steve Chappell, aerospace PhD candidate, received an AIAA Graduate Fellowship Award.
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2004:Michael Benoit, aerospace PhD student, received the Aerospace Department’s John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award
2004:Vanessa Aponte, aerospace Ph.D. student, received a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Fellowship for her thesis research titled 'Development of a Novel BioMEMS Sensor for Minimally Invasive Astronaut Immune System Monitoring'. Vanessa also works part of the year as a co-op in the Biological Systems Office at theNASAJohnsonSpaceCenter.
2004:Jackson Lee, aerospace MS student, was awarded an NSF EAPSI fellowship to Japan this summer. He will be working at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology inTsukuba,Japan, on research related to his MS thesis entailing various aspects of microbial recycling bioprocesses for a Lunar or Mars base.
2004:Jackson Lee, aerospace MS student, recently received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant of $500 to purchase lab equipment needed for his thesis work.
2004:Heather Howard, a first year MS student, received a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Fellowship from the Johnson Space Center for her research titled 'Systematic Characterization of Antibiotic Effectiveness Under Altered Gravitational Environments (simulated 0g to centrifuged 10g)’.
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2003:JuniperJairala, aerospace Ph.D. student, received a Graduate Assistantship in Biosciences from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Initiative for Minority Student Development.
2003:Mike Benoit, aerospace Ph.D. student, received an Honorable Mention Award in the student competition for his poster titled 'Computational Modeling of Extracellular Mass Transport' presented at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology (ASGSB) held in November in Huntsville, AL.
2003:Mike Benoit, aerospace Ph.D. student was elected President of the ASGSB Student Chapter.
2003:Mike Benoit, aerospace PhD student, was awarded the AIAA Foundation Graduate Award for Studies in Cellular Dynamics and Growth in Space. The award provides $5000 for research support and a travel stipend to attend the 42nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting inRenoNV, January 2004.
2003:Tom Hatfield, aerospace Ph.D. candidate, was awarded the AIAA Foundation Graduate Award for Studies in Ultrasonic Physiological Measurement and Technology. The award provides $5000 for research support and a travel stipend to attend the 42nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting inRenoNV, January 2004.
2003:Jim Russell, aerospace Ph.D. student and BioServe RA, received a 'Grant-in-Aid of Research' award from the Scientific Research Society, Sigma Xi. The award will be used to help support his thesis work involving development of a non-invasive biosensor for use in space and ground-based cell culture research. This is a highly competitive process with only approximately 20% of applicants receiving funding.
2003:JuniperJairalawas awarded a fellowship from the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM) to support her MS studies at CU in Aerospace Engineering Sciences (). This award will provide her with full tuition/fees and a minimum $10,000 stipend over 3 semesters, along with summer internships by the employer sponsor, in this case, NASA Dryden.
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2002:Melissa Sampson, aerospace Ph.D. student and BioServe RA, was selected as an Amelia Earhart Fellow byZontaInternational for the second year in a row. The awards, established in 1938, are granted annually to women pursuing graduate degrees related to aerospace sciences or engineering and provide $6,000 to be used for tuition, books and fees, or livingexpences. Melissa's research focuses on biochemical responses of plants to space flight, including applications involving engineering payload design.
2002:Tom Hatfield, aerospace Ph.D. student, was awarded a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP) fellowship from theJohnsonSpaceCenter. His thesis involves using quantitative ultrasound technology to study the effects of space flight on bone and muscle physiology.
2002:Jim Russell, aerospace Ph.D. student, was awarded the AIAA Foundation Graduate Award for his research involving biomass monitoring under the simulated microgravity conditions achieved in a Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) Bioreactor. The award provides $5000 for research support and a travel stipend to attend the 41st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting inRenoNV, January 2003.
2002:Travis Liggett, who is working on a research project under the McNair Scholars Program, was awarded a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant. The Beverly Sears Grant provides a stipend of $995 to be used towards expenses incurred in his research involvingvibramyographytechniques for mitigating bone loss in astronauts.
2002:Mike Benoit, aerospace Ph.D student, was awarded a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP) Fellowship through theJohnH.GlennResearchCenter. His thesis involves application of engineering numerical modeling techniques to problems pertaining to gravitational biology.
2002:Ken Stroudreceived a NASA Graduate Student Researcher Program (GSRP) Fellowship from theJohnsonSpaceCenter. His thesis work involves studying how theneurovestibularsystem responds to space flight and developing countermeasures to help minimize the consequential detrimental impact to crew health and performance.
2002:Ken Stroudwas selected as this year's recipient of the AIAA Willy Z.SadehAward in Space Sciences and Space Engineering. TheSadehAward provides a $5,000 grant for graduate research, plus a travel stipend to attend the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Reno, Nevada in January 2003, and the InternationalAstronauticalFederation (IAF) Congress in October 2003 to be held in Bremen, Germany.
2002:Kirsten G. Carpenter,Aerospace M.S. student, awarded the NASA Special Achievement Award because "Kirsten Carpenter has done an outstanding job supporting the Cargo Integration and Operations Branch (DO5) by demonstrating exceptional initiative and integration skills ...." Kirsten joinedNASAJohnsonSpaceCenteras a permanent employee in the same branch after her graduation.
2002:AES SeniorsBobGjestvang, Aaron Frey, RyanRies, ColleenHiggans, Kate Atkinson, Sara Lewandowski, ShawnBockstahlerand PhD studentJim Clawson,advised by Professor Klaus, received1st place in the NASAMarsPortStudent Design Competition held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.