Smead Aerospace recognizes 2024 Graduate Assistantships
Smead Aerospace recognized three students with graduate assistantships named for alumni and longtime faculty.
The Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences held a ceremony Sept. 24, celebrating the student honorees and commemorating each namesake for the assistantships.
Prof. George H. Born Graduate Assistantship
Recipient: Tommy Clark, 1st Year PhD Student
Advisor: Dan Scheeres
Tommy Clark's research is focused on data-driven methods and machine learning in astrodynamics. He hopes to use machine learning to better understand the space of trajectories in the three-body problem.
This assistantship is named in honor of George Born (1939-2016), who joined CU Boulder aerospace in 1985 and established Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR), which he built into an internationally recognized organization, known for contributions to spacecraft guidance, control, and navigation; and remote sensing of the oceans and atmosphere with radar and lidar technology.
"Professor Born's assistantship is a great honor. He was a pioneer in the field and left an important legacy at CU and beyond. The assistantship has provided me the time and freedom to explore this research." - Clark
Photo: Thomas Clark and Carol Born.
Dr. Lisa Hardaway Graduate Assistantship
Recipient: Anant Telikicherla, 1st Year PhD Student
Advisor:Bob Marshall and Tom Woods
Anant Telikicherla's research is in the field of Heliophysics, with an emphasis on miniaturized small-satellite instruments that aim to address unresolved questions in the field. He aspires to conduct interdisciplinary research that integrates engineering optimization of space instruments with observational data analysis to investigate underlying space physics phenomena.
Lisa Hardaway (1966-2017) (AeroEngr PhD'00) was an industry trailblazer and active CU Boulder aerospace alumna. She spent 20-years at Ball Aerospace, playing critical roles on projects that advanced our knowledge of the universe – including New Horizons mission which took the first ever close up photos of Pluto.
"Receiving this assistantship motivates me to pursue cutting-edge space research. As an aspiring instrument scientist, I consider Dr. Lisa Hardaway, who led the development of multiple space instruments, including the RALPH instrument on NASA’s New Horizons mission, an exemplary role model." - Telikicherla
Photo: Telikicherla with the Hardaway family and friends and members of the New Horizons Team. (L-R) James Hardaway (AeroEngr BS'89 ArchEngr BS'89, CivEngr MS'91), Anant Telikicherla, Jaella Hardaway, Jeanette Domber (AeroEngr MS’99, PhD’04), Alan Stern (AeroEngr PhD'89), Elijah Lowe, and Cathy Olkin.
Captain William H. DuBois Graduate Assistantship
Recipient: Angela Wang, 1st Year PhD Student
Advisor: Jade Morton
Angela Wang's research is centered on the receiver signal processing part of remote sensing. With Prof. Jade Morton, Wang is working on processing signals of opportunity from low earth orbiting weather satellites to study ionospheric effects. In the years to come, she hopes to extend this work to more satellites and to study the troposphere as well.
Capt. William "Pyro" DuBois (AeroEngr BS'08) attended CU Boulder aerospace on an Air Force Scholarship. Following graduation, he completed F-16 training and was twice named the top fighter pilot in his class. He served in the 77th Fighter Squadron, and on Dec 1, 2014, his wingman’s F-16 developed mechanical issues. True to his character and leadership, Will was escorting his wingman safely back to base, when his own jet went down.
"I feel humbled to receive an award honoring Captain William Dubois. He was a person who seemed to live life to the fullest and it motivates me to do so here at CU Boulder both in and out of school. The assistantship's funding allows me to explore research topics of my interest for this year. Furthermore, it has given me extra flexibility to explore Colorado and my hobbies. I am so thankful for the assistantship and I will continue to make it worthwhile." - Wang
Photo: Angela Wang (center) with William DuBois' parents, Ham and Donna.
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