AAE graduate students awarded NSF, NASA fellowships
AAE graduate students Julia Crowley Farenga and Eric Westphal are among the honorees of the 2017 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Westphal was also selected for a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF), along with Michael Baier and Monique McClain.
Two AAE graduate students are among the honorees of the 2017 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Julia Crowley Farenga and Eric Westphal were selected from nearly 13,000 applicants nationally. GRFP provides three years of financial support within a five-year fellowship period for graduate study that leads to a research-based master's or doctoral degree. The National Science Foundation named 2,000 individuals as this year's recipients.
Crowley Farenga is a student of AAE Prof. William Anderson. She says she is honored to have received the NSF fellowship.
“I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Anderson, as well as my mentors from MIT for their support,” she says. “I feel gratified that my proposal for research into the combustion stability of 
transcritical and supercritical fuels in rocket engines was recognized as an important and worthwhile subject, and am lucky to be able to conduct that research at Purdue's world-class facilities."
transcritical and supercritical fuels in rocket engines was recognized as an important and worthwhile subject, and am lucky to be able to conduct that research at Purdue's world-class facilities."
Westphal is a student of Mechanical Engineering and AAE Courtesy Prof. Steven Son. In addition to the NSF fellowship, Westphal was also awarded a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF). He says he is grateful for the support from Dr. Son and his past advisors.
“I am honored to receive these fellowships from the NSF and NASA,” says Westphal. “I will be deciding which to accept over the next few weeks, and I look forward to furthering my academic career and contributing to the scientific community with the funding and opportunities provided by one of these fellowships.
Two other AAE students, Michael Baier and Monique McClain, were also awarded NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships. They are both students of Prof. Steven Son.
Baier says he is truly honored to be awarded the NSTRF and will do his best to love up to the ideals the program represents.
“Being awarded the NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship will give me the freedom to pursue potentially groundbreaking research related to rocket propulsion,” says Baier. “Not only that, It will also provide me with opportunities to better prepare myself for working in the broader field of space exploration.”
McClain says being selected for this fellowship means a lot.
“I can't wait to see how my research progresses and how I grow professionally throughout the duration of this program,” she says.
The NASA fellowships are given to graduate students who show significant potential in the creation of innovative space technologies for the nation’s exploration and economic future. In addition to his/her faculty advisor, each student is matched with a technically relevant and community-engaged researcher, usually at a NASA Center, who serves as a professional research collaborator.
photos from top to bottom: Julia Crowley Farenga, Eric Westphal, Michael Baier, and Monique McClain
Publish date: April 12, 2017