2020 AMELIA EARHART FELLOWS - Zonta International...The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of Amelia Earhart, famed pilot and member of the Zonta Clubs of Boston

zonta.org/AEFellowship

Expanding opportunities forwomen in aerospace engineering and space sciences

In an effort to carry out its mission that women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men, Zonta International offers the Amelia Earhart Fellowship.

The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of Amelia Earhart, famed pilot and member of the Zonta Clubs of Boston and New York. The US$10,000 Fellowship is awarded annually to up to 35 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. In 2021, Zonta was able to award 36 fellowships, thanks to a generous contribution from members of Zonta District 9 and the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley, California, to the AE Fellowship Fund in honor of Zonta International President Sharon Langenbeck, a two-time Amelia Earhart Fellow herself.

Read to learn about Zonta International’s 2021 Amelia Earhart Fellows.

AMELIA EARHARTFELLOWS

2021

2021 Amelia Earhart Fellow


Citizenship: United States

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University

Ms. Axten’s research focus is on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and fault-tolerant control as a member of the PSU UAS Research Lab (PURL).

Her research work is motivated by the increased use of drones over people. Civil missions related to advanced air mobility (AAM) include the movement of people and goods, often over densely populated cities. In the case of a failure on a small drone platform that is being used for mapping and package delivery, the vehicle must be able to detect the fault and land without causing injury to the people nearby. The previous testing in emergency landing site selection techniques is limited to vision-based techniques for identifying and managing dynamic, non-cooperative obstacles at a site, such as people and cars. Ms. Axten will pursue the integration of extra sensors and techniques that are required for operation in poor visibility conditions to ensure the safety of people on the ground.

Over the past year, Ms. Axten has led a team for the First Responder UAS Endurance Challenge. This team won the first three phases of the challenge and its current work is focused on conducting obstacle avoidance flight testing toward the final fly-off for the competition. The main contribution of this work from existing long-endurance UAS is autonomy support that facilitates a first responder in search and rescue (SAR) missions.

Her professional goals are to continue advancing UAS autonomy to support the safe integration of UAS into society. Ms. Axten will seek to influence international regulation development for testing autonomous aerial vehicles and contribute to future work in fault-tolerant control and autonomous operation necessary for advancing air mobility. She will also continue mentoring young students to engage a more diverse group of next-generation researchers.

Rachel Axten



Citizenship: Bulgaria

Proposed Program: Aeronautical Engineering and Technologies at the Technical University of Sofia, Plovdiv Branch

Ms. Bakalova is doing her Ph.D. at the Plovdiv Branch of Sofia Technical University. She is investigating the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) propellers and writing a methodology for optimum design for maximum efficiency in hover. UAVs are one of the most interesting, fast-developing and popular scientific topics. Their small sizes are even more attractive for various applications in favor of humanity such as transport of medical equipment, first aid stocks, surveillance of traffic, disaster areas, etc. Sooner or later, UAVs will be an integral part of aerospace missions, giving the opportunity for novelty, creativity and innovations into the research.

The main objective in Ms. Bakalova’s dissertation is the development of a methodology for optimal design of drone (all-electric multicopters) propellers based on low- and high-fidelity methods. Since more and more drones are in operation with various missions, the higher efficiency of the rotors will result in increased range and duration of flight. The E.U. and U.S. aviation regulations also limit the level of noise emitted from drones, which is another area in the dissertation. The results from the dissertation will be validated via optical flow measurements in wind tunnel experiments and should enable new propeller designs and concepts for drones that could operate in urban areas and deliver goods, medicines and emergency equipment.

Ms. Bakalova is a professional pilot. She studied ballet until the age of 20.

Stiliyana Bakalova



Citizenship: France

Proposed Program: Engineering Sciences, Thermofluids/Aerospace Engineering at the University of Oxford

Provence Barnouin

Ms. Barnouin is investigating the thermofluids of composites of advanced sealing technologies

in jet engines. During operation, the turbine in a jet engine faces extremely high temperatures and pressures, and so it must be cooled to retain material properties. Seals have the critical role of ensuring that cooling airflow reaches the turbine.

There is an urgent need to develop reliable seals to bring better fuel efficiency, lower emissions and greater durability to aircraft propulsion. To address this challenge, Ms. Barnouin is developing facilities to test the performance and integrity of ceramic matrix composite (CMC) seals. The research will provide essential empirical results on sealing technologies, a field where much of the existing data is more than 50 years old. The work will contribute to the design of seals that significantly outperform industry standards in performance, flexibility and thermal resistance. With this resulting CMC sealing technology, less air will be required to cool the hot section components, and so, jet propulsion will run more efficiently at higher thrust.

Outside of her studies, Ms. Barnouin is a university ice hockey goalkeeper. She participates in many mentoring initiatives to inspire girls, especially from low-income backgrounds, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).



Citizenship: United Kingdom

Proposed Program: Future Propulsion and Power/Turbine Aerodynamics at the University of Cambridge

Abigail Berhane

At the University of Cambridge’s Whittle Laboratory and in collaboration with Rolls-Royce, Ms. Berhane’s doctoral research will investigate the impact of surface topography (roughness) on the aerodynamic performance of aero-engine turbine blades.

An improved understanding of the aerodynamic loss processes which contribute to the inefficiency of turbomachines is an important step in reducing the specific fuel consumption of gas-turbine aero-engines. Approximately one-third of the loss generated within an aero-engine turbine is associated with the “aerodynamic friction” or “skin friction,” between the airflow and blade surfaces. The skin friction is strongly dependent on the topography (roughness) of the blade surface. For surfaces present in real turbines, the exact topographical aspect responsible for the rise in skin friction is unknown. A better understanding of how surface topography affects the development of the blade surface boundary layer is not only necessary for current designs but crucial for the successful implementation of novel materials and manufacturing processes.

Ms. Berhane will study the impact of roughness on skin friction via a series of fundamental experimental investigations in a wind tunnel that reproduces engine representative boundary layers, in conjunction with computational simulations. Her research will utilize recent advances in additive layer manufacturing to rapidly recreate the complex surface topographies of aero-engine turbine blades for testing, alongside advances in computational simulations and data processing. This research will have an impact on all aspects—from design and development to life-cycle management—of a gas turbine.

Ms. Berhane is the president of the University of Cambridge East African Society (CamEAS) and was the founder of the University of Sussex Equality in Engineering Society (UoS EinE). One of her interests is composing piano pieces. After her Ph.D., she aims to continue researching complex flows in turbomachines while developing sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of aviation on our environment.



Citizenship: Slovakia

Proposed Program: Mathematics/Computational Fluid Dynamics at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Michaela Brchnelova

Ms. Brchnelova is a doctoral student at the Centre for Mathematical Plasma-Astrophysics at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. She works on the development of the COOLFluiD platform for advanced plasma simulations. The applications for this kind of modeling include solar physics and hypersonic (re)entry. This work can thus help us understand phenomena in the solar atmosphere, as well as enable us to design lighter, cheaper and safer space missions. She has also been involved in the development of rapid hypersonic modeling software to allow for quick simulations during the conceptual design phase of reentry systems.

Ms. Brchnelova graduated with a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering in aerodynamics from the Delft University of Technology, cum laude. Her thesis, honors work and internship work at the European Space Agency’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) focused on simulations in the field of hypersonic aerodynamics and re-entry systems. She also had an internship at the Germany Space Agency’sSTG-ET test facility, where she studied cryogenic systems and ion thrusters.

As a recognition of her early-career efforts, when she was 16 years old, Ms. Brchnelova was awarded prizes by the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) and by the Coalition for Plasma Science. She also had a minor planet, 31462 Brchnelova, named after her when she won the first prize in physics at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF). Additionally, Ms. Brchnelova was included in the selection of women in the #EUWomenForFuture campaign by the European Commission in 2020-2021.

In addition to her professional career, Ms. Brchnelova has been actively involved in a variety of outreach activities, such as popularizing science in media, organizing student contests, giving lectures in schools and providing mentorship.



Citizenship: United States and Spain

Proposed Program: Future Propulsion and Power/Turbine Aerodynamics at the University of Cambridge

Sofia Medina Cassillas

Ms. Medina Cassillas is conducting her doctoral research in the field of engine fan aerodynamics at the University of Cambridge’s Whittle Laboratory, in partnership with Rolls-Royce. Her project will investigate the aerodynamic flow field of the fan stage in a turbofan engine in windmill condition. Windmilling occurs when power to the engine is cut off, for example, due to failure or damage of the rotor blades. This condition is characterized by large flow separation and high drag. Characterizing the complex aerodynamic flow field at windmill is particularly important in the case of future turbofan designs, which have increasingly low fan pressure ratios, high bypass ratios and large fan diameters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

She will use a combination of experimental measurements in an engine-representative rig and computational fluid dynamics to characterize the windmill flow field. Ms. Medina Cassillas’ investigations will include steady and unsteady flow effects, as well as the design of damaged fan blades, to assess the differences in the aerodynamics for a set of representative damage cases. The results of this study will help develop a low order model tool that can be applied in industry to quickly assess the fan rotational speed and drag at the windmill condition for different turbofan designs, therefore allowing for less conservative designs with improved efficiency.

Ms. Medina Cassillas plans to continue working in the field of turbomachinery and aerodynamics. She hopes to contribute to the development of new, more efficient aircraft concepts that will decrease the environmental impact of flight and the aviation industry. In her spare time, she enjoys playing guitar, drawing and running, having taken part in several 10 km races for charity. She was president of Bristol SEDS—the space exploration society at the University of Bristol—organizing space-themed and industry-inspired projects for her fellow students.



Citizenship: Belgium and Luxembourg

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering/Turbomachines at the University of Liège & Polytechnique Montréal

Elise Delhez

Ms. Delhez’s research focuses on the development of new design and modeling approaches supporting the transition toward the next generation of greener aircraft. The path to decreased fuel consumption and reduced emission of carbon dioxide goes through the design of lighter aircraft and more efficient engines. The development of slighter and thinner blades by engine manufacturers, with a reduced clearance between the rotating blades and the surrounding casing, asks for new design approaches. The large amplitude vibrations of the blades and their structural contact with the casing, even in nominal operating conditions, make classical linear models unfit for the purpose.

More specifically, Ms. Delhez works on the development of new nonlinear reduced-order models capturing the large displacements of blades, i.e., their geometrically nonlinear behavior and their contact interactions with the casing. It is expected that such models will allow to predict, and therefore avoid, high-cycle fatigue of the blades in a computationally efficient way. Her research project is conducted under a joint supervision arrangement between Polytechnique Montréal (Canada) and the University of Liège (Belgium).

Besides her research activities, Ms. Delhez also teaches and is active in promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in secondary schools, particularly to encourage women to pursue careers in aerospace engineering. She also plays the piano and the accordion in a student orchestra that she co-founded in 2016.



Citizenship: Germany

Proposed Program: Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College London

Stefanie Düssler

Ms. Düssler is pursuing a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering at Imperial College London. Her research focuses on aeroelastic simulations to explore new potential gust load alleviation (GLA) strategies for future commercial aircraft. GLA systems intend to directly alleviate loads that are induced by gust encounters during flight on the aircraft structure. By directly reducing these loads, the aircraft structure must withstand smaller loads, enabling structural weight savings. These weight savings offer the potential to significantly improve the overall efficiency of the aircraft, thus meeting the goals that anthropogenic climate change has brought to commercial aviation. Ms. Düssler’s research work aligns with her future career goal to contribute to a greener future.

Before her Ph.D., Ms. Düssler studied aerospace engineering at Technical University Braunschweig in Germany and spent an exchange year at Purdue University in the United States. She received the Amelia Earhart Club Award 2020 from the Zonta Club of Braunschweig for her master thesis, in which she designed a Coanda-type flow actuator for faster and safer GLA systems and evaluated its performance with wind tunnel measurements.

Ms. Düssler enjoys playing guitar and participating in various sports such as kickboxing, cycling, kitesurfing and climbing. She won the German Girls’ Youth Championship (2013) in chess. For eight years, she has been playing in the German Women’s League and promoted female chess players through her coaching activities.



Citizenship: India

Proposed Program: Mechanical Engineering/Spacecraft Manoeuvres at McGill University

Shrouti Dutta

Ms. Dutta is working on her Ph.D. on optimal collision avoidance maneuvers for spacecraft. She is exploring effective formulations to find optimal collision avoidance trajectories for close encounters between satellites and debris. Dead satellites, upper stages of launch vehicles, anti-satellite weapon tests and even collisions between debris leading onto further debris—as described in Kessler syndrome—pose serious threats to the operating satellites. The undeniable uncertainties associated with the data in practical scenarios make the problem a bit more interesting. Uncertainty in the knowledge of states of the space objects can arise from quite a few sources like measurement errors, technical limitations, lack of complete knowledge of the dynamics model or even from aleatoric (statistical) uncertainty, which involves the inherent randomness in the physical environment of the system. Thus, Ms. Dutta’s thesis also considers this uncertainty or error present in the position and velocity states of the space objects and their evolution over time and how that and certain parameters involved in the calculation affect the satellite’s collision avoidance trajectory.

Ms. Dutta is very active in the arts: music, photography and writing. She has also been an active volunteer in the community.




Proposed Program: Industrial/Systems Engineering/Engineering Management at The University of Alabama in Huntsville

Casey Eaton

Ms. Eaton is pursuing a Ph.D. in systems engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the area of controlled vocabularies in multidisciplinary aerospace system projects. Communication is the single largest challenge in the design of large-scale, complex engineered systems. Aerospace projects are high stakes, complex and rely heavily on interdisciplinary communication among many specialized groups. Ms. Eaton’s work addresses mathematically how written communication, such as sets of technical measures, can impact the realization of a system.

Ms. Eaton intends to pursue a career in academia, continuing her research on complex systems. She is an active officer of her university’s chapters of Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics (WoAA) and International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). Before beginning her engineering career, Ms. Eaton was an artist and art teacher for more than seven years.



Citizenship: Chile

Proposed Program: Astrophysics at the Universidad Andrés Bello

Catalina Flores

Ms. Flores is a third-year Astrophysics Ph.D. student at the Universidad Andes Bello in Santiago, Chile. Her Ph.D. is in the field of exoplanets.

She is currently collaborating with NASA via remote working from Chile. Ms. Flores is developing an algorithm that will allow the discovery of exoplanets similar to Earth by exploiting the potential of stellar imaging astrometry with future NASA space missions. As a planet-finding technique, stellar astrometry has not been very successful, mainly due to limitations imposed by current astronomical instrumentation. The algorithm she is developing is designed to overcome one of these limitations, namely the optical distortions that hinder the detection of small, Earth-like planets with stellar astrometry. By relying on this algorithm, future space telescopes will be able to use stellar astrometry to search for Earth-like planets. Promising detections found around stars similar to our sun could then be further studied to search for signs of habitability, such as the presence of surface liquid water.

Ms. Flores spends her leisure time reading books, attending concerts and playing video games. She also likes to stay up to date on the latest news regarding the climate emergency and to spread the word to make people conscious of its impact on our planet.



Citizenship: India

Proposed Program: Planetary Science at the University of Arizona (UArizona)

Indujaa Ganesh

Ms. Ganesh’s research focuses on studies of explosive volcanism on Earth, Mars and Venus, using a combination of radar remote sensing and numerical models. On Earth, we see a variety of volcanic landforms formed by both effusive and explosive (or pyroclastic) eruptions, indicating different magma compositions, eruptions through oceanic and continental crusts, and varying tectonic environments. On other planets, the lack of plate tectonics and differences in size and composition result in volcanic features that are mostly formed by effusive activity. Explosive activity, while less common, is linked to excess volatiles like water in the planet’s interior. Therefore, investigating explosive volcanism is important for understanding the volatile inventory of terrestrial planets.

Sounding radars are effective in studying low-density deposits, like those resulting from explosive activity. Ms. Ganesh uses data from Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD), a radar instrument currently orbiting Mars, to identify buried pyroclastic deposits in the shallow subsurface of Martian shield volcanoes. She is also interested in understanding products of explosive eruptions on Venus. Explosive eruptions on Venus result in a hot, flowing mixture of torn-apart magma and gases called pyroclastic flows. Ms. Ganesh uses numerical models to simulate the transport of these flows under Venus conditions and compare them with synthetic aperture radar data to determine eruption parameters that can be used to constrain magma volatile content. To supplement these planetary research projects, she assists collaborators with field studies of voluminous pyroclastic flow deposits in the American Southwest.

At UArizona, Ms. Ganesh has been involved with various outreach activities, ranging from representing the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at events like the annual Connect2STEM and Spacefest to running activities for middle school students who visit LPL. In the future, she wants to lead and contribute to efforts aimed at increasing the participation of women in science, especially those from marginalized communities and economies that lack the necessary educational infrastructure.



Citizenship: France

Proposed Program: Fluid Dynamics/Aerodynamics at Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon

Ariane Gayout

In her Ph.D. studies, Ms. Gayout is aiming at deepening the understanding of wing-vortex interactions, from the coupling in movement to the generation of lift. Such interactions are strongly present on an aircraft but even more in flapping flight. While they might be responsible for stalls on an aircraft—as Ms. Gayout’s work suggests—they enable low-velocity flight for insects and now bio-inspired micro aerial vehicles (MAVs). Through the study of a simple pendulum, she will investigate the influence of turbulent environment on stalls by making use of spontaneous changes between lift-dominated and drag-dominated regimes. These interactions with turbulence have been scarcely researched, despite the recent development of drones, whose maneuvering environment is highly turbulent.

Starting from this fundamental point of view, Ms. Gayout has initiated a project to further the physical understanding of lift production for vortex interactions. Supported by the French Space Agency (CNES) for a parabolic flight campaign in the coming years, this extended part of her Ph.D. project focuses on the flight adaptations of butterflies to various gravity levels in both their flapping pattern and trajectories. This project takes a novel approach on the subject by taking advantage of millions of years of evolution with butterflies as its main object of study.

As ornithology and physics are her long-lasting passions, Ms. Gayout intends to build her own research team on bird-inspired aerodynamics, for both a deeper comprehension of flight dynamics and the development of greener aircraft through biomimetic technologies. She is also active in many science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) events to share her interest and experience in science.



Citizenship: Canada

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan

Christina Harvey

Ms. Harvey studies how, when and why birds morph their wings in gliding flight. The overarching goal of her research is to better understand the aerodynamic benefits afforded by avian wing morphing to inspire the future design of highly maneuverable and adaptable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). During her Ph.D. research, she is using a combination of computational and experimental methods to investigate the stability characteristics associated with shape change caused by actuating the avian elbow and wrist joints. In her work, she integrates both aeronautical engineering and biological approaches. Her goal is that the output of her research not only inspires the design of novel UAVs, but also contributes to developing our fundamental understanding of how birds fly.

Ms. Harvey is active in her department’s diversity, equity and inclusion committees and is passionate about broadening science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to include and support all identity groups. After graduation, Ms. Harvey plans to pursue a tenure-track faculty position with the specific goal of integrating interdisciplinary approaches within engineering education. On the weekends, she enjoys road biking, outdoor adventures and watching the latest documentaries.



Citizenship: France and Switzerland

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology

Caroline Houriet

Society is becoming increasingly focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation industry. For structures, this translates to a need for lightweight, strong and recyclable materials with low energy consumption needed both for recycling and manufacturing. Space exploration is an adopts frugality as a design philosophy by following in nature’s footsteps. Wood or bone, for instance, exhibits high shaping complexity, low embodied energy and remarkable anisotropic mechanical properties through the shaping of weak building blocks into hierarchical architectures. This encourages the development of high-performance parts made of anisotropic materials shaped with multi-scale three-dimensional reinforcement. Recently, the ability of liquid crystal polymers (LCP) to self-assemble into oriented domains during extrusion has been utilized in additive manufacturing, leading to recyclable parts with high stiffness and strength.

Ms. Houriet’s Ph.D. project aims to enable the manufacturing of three-dimensional complex shapes with tailored anisotropic paths optimized for a given load case, utilizing additive manufacturing of liquid crystalline polymers. Her focus is to develop manufacturing strategies to enhance the part’s mechanical performance without altering its recyclability potential. This is done by combining bio-inspired building strategies from micro- to macro-scale that strengthen or toughen locations where interfacial weaknesses may lie. This manufacturing method shows potential for off-Earth manufacturing and, as such, Ms. Houriet’s project is supported by the European Space Agency.

Ms. Houriet is fascinated by space, how things are made, and the infinite intricacy of biological materials and processes achieved through several billion years of optimization. She enjoys hiking, reading and painting with watercolors, as well as exploring sustainability-centered interests like sewing, gardening and sailing. She stands for a more diverse and environmentally conscious approach in aerospace, and her professional goals will always be focused on this aim, whether in academia or industry.



Citizenship: India

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU)

Yashica Khatri

Ms. Khatri’s research with the Celestial and Spaceflight Mechanics Laboratory (CSML) is focused on modeling the dynamical uncertainty of objects in space and propagating this uncertainty over time to build better models of complex orbital dynamics propagation to inform mission design.

When evaluating objects like defunct satellites where location has to be determined using observations from other satellites or ground stations, this uncertainty propagation is extremely important because the positioning errors are higher. Typically, this is done by propagating millions of points in the surrounding area of uncertainty using the system dynamics, which is extremely computationally expensive.

Ms. Khatri is working on developing software programs that apply fast analytical and semi-analytical uncertainty propagation methods to an object in space without losing accuracy. The applications for this are boundless; in particular, she has been testing this to analyze collision probability to predict orbital debris collisions. This research will have very important applications in space situational awareness. Ultimately, she would like to contribute to orbital debris mitigation and collision avoidance so that space can be accessible and sustainable for generations to come.

Along with this, Ms. Khatri hopes to inspire more youth to pursue aerospace careers by serving as a mentor in aerospace outreach programs. She is a newly appointed senator for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in CU’s graduate student government and is the Professional Development chair for the Aerospace Department’s graduate student organization. She has also supported the establishment of and worked with several science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) organizations in the United States and India. She enjoys reading, painting and traveling. In the last year, she has picked up some new hobbies, including boxing and learning Italian.




Proposed Program: Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Katie Koube

Ms. Koube’s Ph.D. thesis seeks to understand methods for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and 3D-printing of metals on future lunar and Mars missions. While there are ongoing experiments to 3D print plastics onboard the International Space Station (ISS), additive manufacturing techniques for in-space environments that allow for the processing of metallic and ceramic materials are not readily available. A technique for flexible and robust on-orbit metals manufacturing will be critical to successful long-term human exploration of planets. Long-term missions to the moon or Mars will require ISRU to be successful and the more materials we can manufacture in orbit the better.

Ms. Koube is working with NASA to develop an extrusion-based 3D-printing technique that utilizes a slurry of suspended oxides found on the moon and Mars to print objects which are then post-processed in hydrogen to create metallic structures. Her preliminary work has produced fully dense iron alloys that have ISRU applications, as well as more exotic cobalt-chrome alloys that have applications for aerospace manufacturing. These alloys are characterized through X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction to understand the microstructural fingerprint that the processing technique leaves on her materials. Materials are also evaluated for porosity using optical and scanning electron microscopy techniques.

Ms. Koube is active in outreach, mentoring several undergraduates in her lab and participating in programs such as Skype a Scientist. She previously worked at SpaceX as a thermal protection systems engineer before returning to school for her Ph.D. and she has her private pilot’s license. She enjoys long-distance running, flying, hiking and exploring all the food that Atlanta has to offer.




Proposed Program: Planetary Science at Purdue University

Dara Laczniak

Ms. Laczniak’s research aims to understand how space weathering alters carbon-rich asteroid surfaces. Exposed to the harsh environment of space, airless planetary bodies are continuously bombarded by micrometeoroids, solar wind particles and cosmic rays. Known collectively as space weathering, these processes change the spectral, microstructural and chemical properties of planetary regoliths and, in turn, complicate interpretations of surface composition from remote-sensing measurements. Carbon-rich asteroids are of great interest to the planetary science community because they contain organic material and hydrated minerals and may have delivered the raw ingredients necessary for the evolution of life to an ancient Earth, yet our understanding of space weathering on these asteroids is very limited.

For her research, Ms. Laczniak simulates solar wind space weathering in the laboratory by bombarding carbon-rich meteorites (analogs for carbon-rich asteroids) with hydrogen and helium ions. She then uses spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques to characterize the spectral, microstructural and chemical changes induced by the simulated solar wind. She also will compare her experimental results to analyses of regolith grains collected from the carbon-rich asteroid Ryugu by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 mission. Findings from her work will help maximize the science return of missions to carbon-rich asteroids and improve models of space weathering throughout the solar system.

Ms. Laczniak is driven by a desire to bridge the gap between science and the broader community through effective, audience-centered STEM communication and education. She is very active in departmental outreach and has helped organize two annual K-8 outreach events aimed at exposing local youth to the Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences. Stemming from her theater background, Ms. Laczniak’s long-term dream is to develop a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) camp for middle school girls that integrates the arts and physical sciences to develop problem-solving and communication skills.



Citizenship: Russia

Proposed Program: Applied Mathematics at Cornell University

Ekaterina Landgren

Ms. Landgren’s research lies in the intersection of applied mathematics and atmospheric sciences. She builds and works with climate models applied to exoplanets—planets outside of the solar system. She studies how such models can help interpret data from space telescopes by illuminating the underlying mechanisms that shape planetary behavior.

Ms. Landgren is currently building a two-dimensional atmospheric circulation model for mini-Neptune and super-Earth exoplanets (1.6-6 times the radius of Earth). These types of planets are very common in our galaxy. She has built a working code based on the two-dimensional shallow-water equations for fluid dynamics and has validated it against previous predictions for atmospheres of hot Jupiters, a class of gas giants. Next, Ms. Landgren will use the model to understand how cloud formation, thermal radiation and chemical composition shape the climate of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes. She will explore wide ranges of stellar radiation patterns and planetary sizes, as well as use machine learning to identify the probable physical mechanisms that shape observations. This work will help constrain observations made by future ground- and space-based facilities so that scientists can confidently hypothesize the natures of the planets whose transits and chemical spectra they observe.

In her future career, Ms. Landgren would like to use mathematical approaches to solve space science problems. Her professional goal is to build a research career. She strives to ensure that our research and the new tools that she develops contribute to the larger space science community. Ms. Landgren also mentors undergraduate students and participates in math outreach programs. She enjoys weightlifting, hiking, skiing and learning foreign languages.



Citizenship: Romania

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Elena Sorina Lupu

Ms. Lupu’s research tries to push the boundaries of autonomy and control for spacecraft and aerospace robotics. Currently, space robots rely on ground operations for commanding, which makes the missions very expensive and limited. Therefore, there is a need to increase autonomy to enable robots to go further without ground loop.

One mission that requires advanced autonomy is in-orbit assembly of spacecraft. During the last two years, Ms. Lupu researched docking mechanisms and controllers to enable in-orbit assembly of spacecraft. In-orbit self-assembly of a large structure from smaller, identical spacecraft will enable advanced missions such as large space telescope or orbital gateways. Since the component satellites can be mass-produced, one can benefit from the economy of scale to reduce the cost of these missions. Autonomous rendezvous and docking technologies for small satellites are necessary to enable in-orbit assembly. For this, Ms. Lupu has developed an electromagnet-based docking system to ultra-soft dock two or more spacecraft. Ultra-soft docking is very important for assembling space mirrors, for instance. The algorithm and the docking system had been tested on the state-of-the-art spacecraft simulators, a set of robots that are part of Dr. Soon-Jo Chung’s Aerospace Robotics and Control Lab at Caltech. The team at Caltech is currently testing the docking algorithm in space, in a future space mission.

Recently, Ms. Lupu joined a new project on developing hybrid systems (robots combining flying and walking) that are capable of advanced maneuverability and locomotion. She hopes that one day, her robots would be used on other planets to enable future manned missions. At Caltech, she conducted many demonstrations and presentations using spacecraft simulators. Many of these demos were aimed at convincing the young generation of students to follow a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In her spare time, she likes hiking and thinking about robots.

Because of her research in aerospace engineering to support space missions in her studies at Caltech, Ms. Lupu was selected for the added recognition of the AE Fellowship in honor of Zonta International President Sharon Langenbeck. Sharon will present Ms. Lupu with her wings pin and certificate at a special award ceremony.



Citizenship: Brazil

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the Universität der Bundeswehr München

Larissa Balestrero Machado

Ms. Balestrero Machado’s Ph.D. research focuses on autonomous landing on small planetary bodies such as asteroids, comets and moons. Such bodies are known to be valuable sources of raw materials and information about the formation of the solar system. Landing on small bodies, however, is a very challenging task due to the unknown environment and irregular gravitational field.Besides, remotely controlling such an operation is often infeasible due to the long distances from Earth.

Ms. Balestrero Machado is developing a spacecraft and small body environment simulation, along with the guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system for autonomous landing on asteroids, comets and moons. The aim is to have a system that will autonomously guide the spacecraft to challenging landing sites, in the presence of disturbances, while detecting and avoiding hazards. She has been working on the design of a mission and landing scenario and parametric models for the spacecraft and small body. She has also been working on the development of the GNC concept and algorithms and investigating the use of artificial intelligence for autonomous guidance and control of spacecraft. She hopes to contribute to the sustainable exploration of high-value small bodies, including Earth’s moon.

Ms. Balestrero Machado’s professional goals include implementing her research findings and knowledge into future deep space exploration missions.




Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University

Madeline McMillan

Ms. McMillan is a Ph.D. student studying aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University. Her current research interests include hypersonic aerodynamics and boundary-layer stability and transition. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M in 2018 and 2019, focusing on low-speed aerodynamics and modeling fluid flow over roughness.

Ms. McMillan’s experience in the research environment, as well as working with graduate teaching assistants through Texas A&M’s Center for Teaching Excellence, has inspired her to pursue a career in academia, where she hopes to support future students in following their career passions. She enjoys swimming and triathlons, as well as cooking and trying new recipes.




Proposed Program: Electrical Engineering at Stanford University

Tara Mina

Ms. Mina’s current research work focuses on ensuring safe and attack-resilient satellite-based navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs rely on satellite-based navigation systems—including GPS—to navigate outdoors, while correcting for onboard sensor drift. However, because the current GPS signals are weak and unencrypted, UAVs are vulnerable to malicious, signal-level attacks, including GPS spoofing—where an attacker broadcasts counterfeit GPS signals to induce a false navigation solution for the UAV—and GPS jamming—where an attacker broadcasts high-power signals that directly interfere with the ability of the UAV to receive GPS signals.

For her Ph.D., Ms. Mina will examine techniques to help shape the future of satellite-based navigation for UAVs to enhance their resilience to malicious attacks. In particular, she will develop spoofing detection algorithms to be implemented on board the UAV, which will leverage the available redundancy from multiple onboard sensors to recognize anomalies in the received GPS signal. Furthermore, collaborating with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Ms. Mina has developed novel techniques to redesign the GPS binary code signals to enhance resilience to GPS signal interference for UAVs and, more broadly, all future users of satellite-based navigation.

Ms. Mina enjoys volunteering in outreach and after-school programs to introduce kids to engineering and inspire them to explore their interests. She also enjoys traveling, learning new languages, dancing and spending time with friends and family.



Citizenship: India

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Aadhy Parthasarathy

Ms. Parthasarathy’s Ph.D. research is focused on increasing our fundamental understanding of unsteady turbulent boundary layers. Turbulent boundary layers with time-varying mean occur frequently in engineering applications: over rotorcraft blades, in turbomachinery, over maneuvering aircraft or over any air vehicle operating under gusty wind conditions. The efficient design and operation of these aerodynamic bodies over their entire performance envelope depend on the ability to predict and control the behavior of turbulence in unsteady boundary layers. Despite their high practical utility, unsteady turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) are not well understood due to the flow fields being all the more complex than steady turbulence. For her Ph.D., Ms. Parthasarathy approaches this problem through novel experiments and data analysis techniques.

She has built an experimental facility that allows the development of high-Reynolds number unsteady TBLs in a laboratory wind tunnel, and she has quantified the resulting flow fields using a spatially and temporally resolved velocimetry technique. The resulting database will be studied in two ways: modal analysis techniques will be used to understand the organization and dynamics of coherent structures in unsteady TBLs; and single and multi-point statistics will be used to analyze the average and consistent flow features. The former will enhance her ability to devise physics-based flow control strategies, and the latter will help the CFD community to validate turbulence models for unsteady TBLs, to better predict these flows.

Ms. Parthasarathy aims to continue on this path of enabling the next generation of aviation in her future endeavors. She is particularly enthusiastic about the upcoming urban air mobility revolution and wishes to play a part in it. Her non-academic interests include aeromodeling, food and cooking.



Citizenship: Italy

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at Politecnico di Milano

Laura Pernigoni

Ms. Pernigoni is a Ph.D. student in aerospace engineering at Politecnico di Milano. Her research focuses on the characterization of self-healing materials and their possible integration into space multilayer inflatable and deployable structures. She aims to combine damage mitigation and repair with high packing efficiency, low mass and launch costs, and expandable volumes. No current space system can autonomously repair, and damages from impacts with micrometeoroids and orbital debris could lead to catastrophic failure and complete loss of functionality of its components. Material continuity is hence a stringent requirement, especially because human repair activity in space may be costly, dangerous or even impossible. In this context, self-healing materials could increase spacecraft reliability and operational life and reduce maintenance costs, thanks to their ability to recover their main functionalities with low to no external intervention.

Ms. Pernigoni has recently started a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), which consists of the analysis of the effects of the space environment on healing performance and general properties of self-healing polymers, with a special focus on radiation. She will also spend some months at the ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) lab facilities.

Ms. Pernigoni also supervises master students in their theses development and she is currently working as a teaching assistant for the third-year aerospace materials and technologies course at Politecnico di Milano. She participated as a speaker during the lunar landing celebrations at Politecnico di Milano, at the Civico Planetario Hoepli in Milan and during the first edition of the “Festival della Scienza di Verona,” presenting the history of the Apollo 11 spacesuits.

She is a trumpet player in her town’s band as well as a movie enthusiast, and she loves reading, especially comics of every type.




Proposed Program: Planetary Science at Purdue University

Amanda Rudolph

Ms. Rudolph’s research uses remote sensing and a mineralogical framework to better understand Mars’ geological history. Her study region is Mt. Sharp, the 5.5-km (18,000 ft)-high mountain of layered sediments located in the center of Gale crater, Mars, which is currently being explored by the Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity rover. She aims to help answer the question of how long-lived the ancient lake environment present in Gale crater persisted and if it could have supported life.

To conduct this research, Ms. Rudolph uses datasets with different scales and perspectives. These perspectives are from the surface of Mars, orbiting around Mars and from Earth. From the surface of Mars, she analyzes visible-to-near-infrared (VNIR) and visual imagery datasets taken by the Curiosity rover to constrain the distribution and compositional variability in the Glen Torridon region of Mt. Sharp. Glen Torridon has the highest clay mineral abundance seen by Curiosity thus far. This is important because clay minerals are produced through water-rock interactions and are instrumental for understanding the type of environment in which sediments were deposited as well as any post-depositional processes. From the orbital perspective, Ms. Rudolph uses VNIR spectroscopy, high-resolution imagery and geologic mapping techniques to track the composition and morphology of unique and seemingly unaltered rock layers within Mt. Sharp. On Earth, she will analyze samples collected from a terrestrial Mars analog site with instruments similar to those onboard the Curiosity rover. Many of the instruments on Curiosity are not common in terrestrial geology and so they have not been frequently tested on analog samples.

Ms. Rudolph completed her undergraduate degree as a community college transfer student. Throughout her career, she hopes to destigmatize non-traditional educational pathways in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and help foster better relationships between four-year universities and community colleges.



Citizenship: Germany

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the University of Stuttgart

Maren Scheel

Ms. Scheel’s thesis aims at developing an approach for nonlinear vibration testing. Understanding, measuring and predicting vibrations is essential because vibrations can cause material fatigue, threaten the proper functioning and structural integrity of machines, and even risk human lives. Lightweight design, the key to saving resources in aerospace engineering, makes structures especially prone to vibrations. A major challenge is the nonlinear force-deformation dependence caused, for instance, by large deformation of thin-walled structures or frictional contact interactions in mechanical joints. Today, vibration testing relies almost exclusively on linear theory. In the presence of nonlinearity, this leads to inconsistent and erroneous results.

Ms. Scheel develops a nonlinear modal testing method that relies on a rigorous theoretical definition of nonlinear modes of vibration and overcomes the aforementioned shortages. The amplitude-dependent modal properties can be used to construct a purely data-driven model of the system. A crucial goal of her research is to assess the opportunities and limitations of the approach compared to the current state of the art. The approach is validated for a variety of benchmark structures with different sources of nonlinearity.

Ms. Scheel wants to pursue an academic career. She enjoys training students and passing on her experience to the next generations of aerospace engineers. She also enjoys dancing the Lindy Hop, activities in nature, and engaging in charity work for and with children.



Citizenship: Italy

Proposed Program: Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Oxford

Manuela Sisti

Ms. Sisti decided she wanted to become an aerospace engineer when she was 13 years old after she won a regional competition for her essay entitled “The History of Aviation.” To find background information for the essay, she went through a collection of newspaper articles that covered the main events of the 1900s. That is how she found out about the Wright brothers and Amelia Earhart. She was fascinated, but she would have never imagined realizing her dream of pursuing a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Ms. Sisti’s Ph.D. research focuses on developing an infrared measurement system that will provide high-fidelity data to develop novel cooling systems for jet engine turbine blades. Efficient cooling systems are needed not only to ensure components’ life but also to achieve more efficient and, ultimately, more sustainable engines.

This research is incredibly innovative, as almost no studies applied infrared thermography to turbine rotors. Difficulties arise when taking these measurements. The high speed, target emission, optical path transmittance and complex surroundings geometry can substantially affect the measurement if not accounted for. Ms. Sisti’s research will improve understanding of the complex heat transfer phenomena that characterize jet engines.

She loves playing the piano, which she has studied since she was a child. Recently, she started practicing yoga,which has helped her greatly in dealing with the stress of living far from her family during the pandemic.




Proposed Program: Astrophysics Instrumentation at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Jenny Smith

Ms. Smith’s doctoral work aims to improve microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) array performance while reducing the volume, weight and power of the readout electronics to increase technological readiness for space flight. MKIDs are a revolutionary detector technology that can simultaneously report the location, energy and arrival time of photons. MKIDs are sensitive enough to count single photons while distinguishing energies across the ultraviolet, visible and infrared spectrum. The strong sensitivity, coupled with the fact that MKIDs can be fabricated into high-density, high-efficiency detector arrays, make MKIDs a primary technology target for integration into space telescopes with a broad range of science goals including detecting life on planets outside our solar system.

Ms. Smith works jointly on the superconducting analog signal chain and room temperature readout system. Her work on the analog signal chain involves developing new cryogenic microwave components and packaging to support the integration of a quantum-noise-limited amplifier to boost the MKID signal with minimal noise injection. Her work on the room temperature readout is centered around developing the next-generation data acquisition system on a newly released, analog-integrated field-programmable gate array device known as a radio frequency system-on-chip (RFSoC). Migrating digital signal processing to the RFSoC device will dramatically decrease the weight, size and power of the readout electronics and support efforts to deploy MKIDs in space.

Ms. Smith is a strong advocate for building supportive communities for women and enjoys planning and hosting events through the UCSB Women in Physics group. She also has fun sharing her excitement about technology research and development and space exploration with middle-school and high-school students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In her spare time, she appreciates taking her dog to the beach, tending to her dragon fruit plants, spending time with friends and playing volleyball.



Citizenship: India

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering/Combustion at the Universite Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec

Preethi Rajendram Soundararajan

Ms. Rajendram Soundararajan’s research focuses on thermoacoustic instabilities that occur in high-energy devices such as gas turbines, aircraft and rocket engines. In extreme cases, these instabilities can cause flame blow-off and serious failures. As a step toward ensuring the safety and robustness of aero-engines, her research involves studying the fundamental mechanisms that affect thermoacoustic instabilities.

As most aero-engines feature annular combustion chambers, Ms. Rajendram Soundararajan performs experiments on a laboratory-scale annular combustor, a scaled-down version of a helicopter engine. She carries out measurements with different fuels and swirling injectors, which provide a vast and unique database of instabilities at different operating conditions. Additionally, she performs experiments on two simplified test rigs—one comprising a single injector of the annular combustor and the other with a linear array of three injectors. Through flame response measurements to external acoustic fluctuations on these setups, she aims to develop lower-order theoretical models to predict the instability characteristics of the multiple injector annular system.

Ms. Rajendram Soundararajan’s interest in understanding human behavior has led her to obtain a second master’s degree in psychology. She is passionate about teaching and wants to pursue a career in academia after her Ph.D. She is also a fervent reader and enjoys writing poetry. In her free time, she likes cycling and stargazing.



Citizenship: Denmark

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark

Christina Ayoe Toldbo

Ms. Ayoe Toldbo will use her fellowship to study navigation methodologies for autonomous space navigation. Manned and unmanned space missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) are now frequently being planned and the drive for space exploration is accelerating. Missions beyond LEO are more complex and further away from Earth, which drives the need for more autonomous operations.

Ms. Ayoe Toldbo is investigating the opportunities and challenges of using vision-based sensors for navigation and her research is centered around one of the pioneering instruments for optical autonomous tracking—the micro Advanced Stellar Compass. Ms. Ayoe Toldbo works on algorithms extracting 3D information from 2D images taken during the flight of a non-cooperative spacecraft and using the generated 3D model for efficient and reliable detection, tracking and rendezvous. She is also examining dual-purpose opportunities for optical navigation systems such as using star-trackers on board the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) as radiation sensors to map the high-energy particle population in cis-lunar space or using the star-trackers on board the Juno mission to investigate comet dust trails. Lastly, Ms. Ayoe Toldbo has developed a design concept for an in-situ navigation system installed on the lunar surface in anticipation of the upcoming need for frequent, precision landings at the same location.

In her free time, Ms. Ayoe Toldbo enjoys outdoor adventures and is an active crew member on the largest reconstruction of a Viking ship in the world, the Sea Stallion. She enjoys traveling and often uses hitchhiking, CouchSurfing and long-duration bike trips to explore new places. At home, she enjoys public outreach and science communication and gives several presentations each month to schools and young children about space exploration.



Citizenship: Vietnam

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering/Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland

Ha Tran

Ms. Tran’s Ph.D. research focuses on investigating the performance of small fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at low altitudes with high turbulent flows and strong wind gusts. The results obtained from this research would provide vital input to fixed-wing UAV control system designers, so they can account for the significant effects of highly unsteady wind conditions.

Ms. Tran’s research is based on experiments in the state-of-the-art wind tunnel at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The high-turbulent wind flows are generated by the rectangular grids, whereas the strong wind gusts and natural atmospheric wind conditions are replicated by a well-controlled oscillating airfoil system in the wind tunnel. An actual UAV model supplied by New Zealand Defense Force has been used to quantify the wind loading and the performance under different turbulent flows and wind gusts generated from these two flow-controlling systems. Simultaneously, a full-scale fixed-wing UAV has been designed with complex instrumentation to accurately measure its performance under different flow situations and varied control inputs. Combining a full-scale fixed-wing UAV with various control inputs and the complex natural atmospheric wind conditions in the wind tunnel experiments to investigate the unsteady aerodynamic response and performance promises to bring valuable results for correcting the input data of UAV controller designs.

Ms. Tran’s goals are to continue in the field of aerospace engineering through academic and industrial research. She loves teaching and is doing some part-time teaching assistant jobs at the University of Auckland. She would love to help other students achieve their goals. Her hobbies are volunteering, traveling and cooking.



Citizenship: Netherlands

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering at the University of Glasgow

Merel Vergaaij

Ms. Vergaaij’s Ph.D. research is on the coupling of trajectory optimization and economic modeling for space resource utilization. Trajectory design that maximizes economic profitability is investigated as a key consideration for a future commercial venture. A framework has been set up to assess the profitability of an off-Earth mining venture at the appropriate level of detail and accuracy. The framework consists of a combination of suitable multi-disciplinary models, simulations and optimization techniques. Using this framework, her multi-disciplinary research can identify profitable space mission architectures, supply chains worth investigating further and the most suitable propulsion technique(s).

As part of her M.Sc. and Ph.D., she has published several papers on solar sailing, space resource utilization and trajectory optimization. Her long-term goal is to return to academia after gaining hands-on experience in the industry, because she wants to pay forward what her professors have given her.

Ms. Vergaaij enjoys cooking, baking and researching recipes from all over the world. She likes to work in the vegetable garden and has taken an interest in woodworking using reclaimed wood.



Citizenship: Australia and United Kingdom

Proposed Program: Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Jamie Voros

Ms. Voros is a Ph.D. student and graduate researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder and works in the Bioastronautics laboratory. Designing for humans in aerospace is a fundamental part of her research.

Ms. Voros’ master’s thesis focused on demonstrating that stimulating the vestibular system elicits improvements in visual thresholds. Such improvements could be useful in operational environments where the ability to sense extremal small changes in the visual scene is critical (e.g., piloting a spacecraft). Her Ph.D. work focuses on creating a computational model of human perception that incorporates visual, tactile and vestibular cues for processing. The model would be useful for better understanding and designing control systems for complex aircraft and spacecraft.

Ms. Voros received her bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in aerospace engineering and architecture. Outside research, she enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling and climbing.




Proposed Program: Planetary and Space Science at the University of Maryland, College Park

Lori Willhite

Ms. Willhite’s Ph.D. centers on two focuses. The first is the development of mass spectrometers for spaceflight exploration. Lori is part of several team efforts to design, integrate and test spaceflight mass spectrometers, including the CRATER instrument, which is part of NASA’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) program, and CORALS, which is supported by NASA’s Instrument Concepts for Europa Exploration 2 (ICEE 2) program. She is a leader on the CRATER team, which includes partners from the University of Maryland, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and other national and international partners. Ms. Willhite is particularly interested in advancing in situ isotopic investigations and quantitative analyses to maximize the scientific return of a lunar mission. Her Ph.D. will also investigate chemical and isotopic fractionation in the laser source, ion inlet, and Orbitrap analyzer of the CRATER and CORALS instruments. The second focus of Ms. Willhite’s Ph.D. is isotopic, trace element and petrologic investigations of early solar system processes such as planetary accretion, impacts, core formation and silicate differentiation. Ms. Willhite is a program director for the Kids Excelling in Math (KEMS) program that teaches socially relevant, hands-on science to Title 1 middle school students in Hyattsville, Maryland. She is currently one of the Geological Society of America Planetary Geology Division student representatives. She also volunteers with Girls on the Run DC, a program that focuses on empowering young women, and the Senior Dog Sanctuary, which rescues and rehabilitates older dogs. Ms. Willhite is passionate about animals, especially her border collie rescue, Roxanne (Roxy). She and Roxy love to hike, run and do agility in their free time. Ms. Willhite loves camping, backpacking, rock climbing and playing sports. She also loves graphic design and animation. She aspires to be a scientist and mentor at a university, national laboratory or NASA center.



Citizenship: China, PR

Proposed Program: Math/Computational Fluid Dynamics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Qing Xie

Ms. Xie is pursuing her Ph.D. in applied mathematics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her research topic is about the development of high-order gas-kinetic schemes (GKS) for the compressible flow simulation, and the main application area is in aerospace, such as the high-speed flow around an air-vehicle and physical wave interactions. Another main application for the high-order scheme is the computational aero-acoustics (CAA), which targets the reduction of noises from aircraft. In the past three years, she has made great progress on the construction of high-order finite-difference GKS for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations and applied the scheme successfully to many test cases, such as blast wave, cavity flow and shock interactions. With the successful development of fundamental algorithms for fluid simulations, she is gradually shifting her research topic to apply the algorithm in real engineering applications.

Besides her research achievements, Ms. Xie also won the best teaching award when serving as a teaching assistant in past years. She spares no efforts in helping undergraduate students and arousing their curiosity in STEM learning, especially for women and girls.

Documents

2020 AMELIA EARHART FELLOWS - Zonta International...The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of Amelia Earhart, famed pilot and member of the Zonta Clubs of Boston