PhD Student Scholars
About Smead Scholarship
Smead Scholars at the University of Colorado Boulder represent the best and brightest minds in aerospace. Since 2007, the program has recognized outstanding students for their research, character, and potential to lead in the aerospace field - with alumni spanning the nation and world both geographically and across the aerospace sector.
Each year, our selection committee reviews applications from among a subset of nominated applicants to the department’s PhD applicants. This group is further down selected to a small group of finalists who show the most promise to excel both in our department’s PhD program and as future leaders in the aerospace field. Two finalists, who also receive a PhD offer from our faculty, are additionally selected to be honored with a Smead Scholarship, which provides financial support, academic enrichment, and exclusive networking and professional development opportunities.
Benefits of Being a Smead Scholar
Smead Scholars are selected in part because of their demonstrated leadership potential and public service qualities. Additionally, Smead Scholars are nationally recognized for the excellence of their research and character. If you would like more information, please complete the interest form (link to form in Join the Smead Program).
The program makes the pursuit of graduate studies more financially feasible and intellectually captivating by providing incoming students with freedom to determine their preferred line of research through full tuition coverage and a monthly research stipend above the Graduate Research Assistant rate in their first year, plus additional annual stipends in years 2-4.
Scholars also receive:
- Annual Travel Budget for conferences and other relevant scholastic travel:
- This general travel fund allows Scholars to travel to conferences or workshops that they are presenting at or are of value to their research or studies. Smead Scholars use these funds to attend events large and small. Funds can also be used for professional development opportunities.
- Access to Senior Leadership in the aerospace community across academia, government, and industry:
- The program leadership team works with the Scholars to craft unique seminars and trainings on and off campus, focused on business and entrepreneurial acumen, communication and presentation skills, career path and well-being, and other areas requested by Scholars. This could include attending a private weekend retreat in the mountains with just your fellow Scholars or receiving trainings from career development professionals from top aerospace companies or a Fly-in to Washington, DC to meet with federal leaders.
- Dedicated Professional Development and Essential Leadership Skills Training:
- Scholars have access to the combined network of the Smead Scholar alumni and Faculty Fellows, who truly span the globe. In addition, the program leadership team works with Scholars to set up meetings with visiting speakers and other department guests and will help arrange meetings for Scholars when they travel.
- Many programs and companies talk about the importance of soft skills, such as interpersonal communication, time management and public speaking. We view these as essential skills to be an effective leader in industry. All PhD students at CU Boulder graduate with extraordinary technical acumen, but to lead in aerospace and achieve a better future, the Smead Program will help intentionally build and grow these skills.
- Participation in the Annual Smead Symposium:
- This three-day Symposium in the heart of the Rocky Mountains convenes the Smead Scholars, Scholar Alumni, Faculty Fellows, and other department faculty involved in The Smead Program with external speakers from academia, industry, and government for a series of research and professional development talks and panels. The Smead Family also joins in the weekend’s activities. Featured speakers have included astronauts, Air Force leaders, and executives from companies including Sierra Space, Advanced Space, Astroscale, and Lockheed Martin. The Symposium also includes activities that are just for fun—in the past we’ve gone white water rafting, horseback riding, fly fishing, and ATV’ing. It’s a weekend to share, learn, and de-stress with colleagues.
Scroll down to learn more about our current Scholars. Read about our past graduates on the Scholars Alumni page.
2024 Scholars
Sarah Kinney is a 2024 Smead Scholar co-advised by Profs. Iain Boyd and John Evans. Her research interests include fluid structure interactions in hypersonic applications. Sarah graduated from Texas A&M University in 2024 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering where she contributed to aeroacoustic research and was actively involved in the Texas A&M Sounding Rocketry Team. During her summers, she interned at NASA, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin. Sarah is also supported by the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship. In her free time, Sarah enjoys high power rocketry, motorcycles, climbing, and painting.
Lisa Ventura started her PhD in Fall 2024 under the direction of Professor Zach Sunberg in Autonomous Systems and Professor Allie Hayman in Bioastronautics. Her research interests include decision making under uncertainty for autonomous aircraft, optimizing the teamwork and trust between robots and humans, and developing systems that can interpret human intent. Lisa is an Air Force instructor pilot with over 2,300 hours. She previously earned a master's degree in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is currently supported by an Air Force STEM PhD Fellowship. Outside of academics, she enjoys trail running, climbing, and hiking.
2023 Scholar
Cate Leszcz is a 2023 Smead Scholar pursuing her PhD under the direction of Profs. Iain Boyd and Kurt Maute. Her research interests include hypersonics, reentry vehicles, aerothermoelasticity, and optimization. Cate received a BS in Aerospace Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2023, graduating Summa Cum Laude with Honors Research Distinction in Aerospace Engineering. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the optimization of a variable thickness hypersonic skin panel. She spent her summers interning with NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory. At Ohio State, Cate served on the executive board for Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Honor Society and was a member of the Multi-Physics Interactions Research Group. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Cate is an avid Cleveland sports fan as well as a huge Ohio State fan. Her other hobbies include fitness, hiking, yoga, and cooking.
2022 Scholars
David Dezell Turner is a 2022 Smead Scholar studying astrodynamics under Prof. Jay McMahon. He graduated from MIT in 2022 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. Dezell is also an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, GEM Fellow, and Matthew Isakowitz Fellow. He has previously interned at NASA, The Aerospace Corporation, and the Southwest Research Institute, where his projects ran the gamut from orbit design for an upcoming AFRL Mission to a constellation concept study for the United States Space Force. Dezell is also passionate about science communication and has written articles for NASA, SwRI, and MIT Angles. Outside of the lab, he enjoys writing fiction, singing, and making Etch-A-Sketch drawings.
Evangelina Evans is a 2022 Smead Scholar pursuing her PhD in astrodynamics for cislunar space applications under the direction of Profs. Dan Scheeres and Marcus Holzinger. Eva graduated Summa Cum Laude from Penn State in 2022 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering where she completed an undergraduate honors thesis on “Trajectory Optimization for Refueling Geosynchronous Satellites”. During her summers, Eva has interned with Boeing as an astrodynamicist for commercial space launch mission operations. She is from Kailua, Hawaii and enjoys scuba diving, traveling, and social dancing outside of her academics.
2021 Scholars
Sarah Luettgen began pursuing her PhD at CU Boulder in 2021 with a research interest in the dynamics of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. She is advised by Prof. Jeffrey Thayer and is engaged in studies in the Remote Sensing, Earth and Space Sciences focus area. Sarah graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University with a BA in astronomy and physics and minors in mathematics and computer science. There, she performed research concerning the lunar exosphere and was on the leadership board of BU’s undergraduate physics club. Sarah grew up in Winchester, MA. She finds joy in hiking, reading, and trying new recipes.
Mitchell Wall is a 2021 Smead Scholar interested in studying hypersonics and reentry vehicle under the direction of Prof. Iain Boyd. Mitchell graduated with a BS in Engineering Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2021. At Wisconsin, he pursued research interests in structural dynamics and contributed to the hyperloop competition team as a system lead and as mechanical director. He has also spent multiple summers interning at companies such as ATA Engineering, SpaceX, and Relativity Space, where he worked on launch vehicle dynamics and CFD. He is also involved in the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program. Mitchell enjoys hiking, backpacking, road trips, and cooking
2020 Scholars
Connor Morency is a Smead Aerospace PhD pre-candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder. Advised by Prof. Kenneth Jansen, Connor conducts research regarding the development and execution of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in the supersonic and hypersonic regimes. In addition to the Smead fellowship, he is also supported by a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship. Connor graduated from Vanderbilt University in May 2019 with a BE in mechanical engineering where he won the NASA Student Launch Competition as the simulations lead for the Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory (VADL). He spent the following year in Bengaluru, India as a Henry Luce Scholar where he worked on an atmospheric physics model at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS). Connor earned his MS in aerospace engineering from CU Boulder in December 2022. As a Chicago native, Connor enjoys baseball (go Cubs!), writing music, and traveling.
Jennifer Horing is a 2020 Smead Scholar interested in studying hypersonic aerothermodynamics and is advised by Prof. Iain Boyd. Jennifer graduated from Harvard University in 2018 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. While in school, Jennifer pursued research in biomimetic robotics at the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory while also taking classes at MIT, and her senior design focused on the design of a morphing wing. After graduation, Jennifer entered Blue Origin’s New Graduate Rotation program and continued there as a Fluid Systems Engineer working on thermal-fluid analysis for the second stage of the New Glenn rocket. Jennifer also enjoys soccer, snowboarding, hiking and reading.
2019 Scholars
Jackson Jandreau is a 2019 Smead Scholar studying under Prof. Xinzhao Chu, focusing on Earth & space science research, and spent a season at the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica as part of Prof. Chu’s work. Jandreau grew up in Oklahoma City and completed a bachelor of science degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University. Outside of school, his hobbies include cycling, cars, hiking, music, making kombucha, and finding new hobbies.
Samantha Sheppard is a 2019 Smead Scholar working within the Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory under the direction of Prof. John Farnsworth and Prof. James Brasseur. Her research focuses on understanding the interaction of turbulent structures near surfaces towards the aim of improving wall models for large eddy simulations. Samantha graduated from Duke University Cum Laude in 2017 with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering and a certificate in Aerospace Engineering. In 2020 she was awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. Samantha is originally from Andover, MA and in her free time she enjoys skiing, painting, ballet, and mountain biking.
2018 Scholars
Damennick Henry is a 2018 Smead Scholar and is advised by the A. Richard Seebass Chair, Prof. Dan Scheeres. Damennick graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota in May 2018 with a BS in Electrical Engineering. In addition to being a Smead Scholar, Damennick's research is also supported by a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship, first awarded in 2019. Originally from Beavercreek, OH, Damennick is interested in studying controls and astrodynamics to provide solutions to problems such as formation flying and multi-agent control. During his academic tenure at UMN, Damennick served as president of UMN’s IEEE honor society, performed research in compressive sensing, and led the design of the attitude controller for UMN's small satellite team. He has also interned at the Air Force Research Laboratory and Honeywell Aerospace. Long-term, Damennick hopes to stay in academia after completing his PhD studies, and continue to work on space systems control research and act as an ambassador for the field. Outside of academics, he enjoys tennis, hiking and traveling.
Alex Hirst is a 2018 Smead Scholar, 2020 Draper Scholar, and is advised by Smead Faculty Fellow emeritus, Prof. Eric Frew. Alex holds a B.S. from Cornell University in Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on the design, application, and control of fixed-wing small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) applied to atmospheric science. He has participated in several weeks-long field campaigns across the mid-western United States, studying severe storms and early-convective cloud formations. Alex's thesis research develops a learning-enhanced, optimization-based guidance controller for agile path-following control, with the goal of enabling fixed-wing sUAS applications in more extreme and demanding environments, such as urban environments or offshore wind farms.