"This is just an incredible honor," Rhonda Walthall said. "I would have never dreamed that I would ever receive this award, this recognition from Purdue."

Graduate students Derrick Charley and Ann Marie Karis received the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind.

"It is great honor to be recognized among peers that have accomplished great things in their careers after Purdue," Stevan Slijepcevic said.

AAE Professor Daniel DeLaurentis was one of five fellows selected in 2021 by The International Council on Systems Engineering.

“I have always been proud to be a Boilermaker alumnus, and it is truly an honor to be recognized by my AAE faculty colleagues as having contributed something to our field and our profession,” David Schmidt said.

With Perseverance on the ground and moving, Briony Horgan, who has a courtesy appointment in AAE, is now focused on analyzing data from the instrument she works with: Mastcam-Z.

"It's an incredible honor," O'Hara said. "I feel very fortunate to be a part of the Purdue community, both then and now. So it's pretty humbling to get nominated for and receive this award."

"It never crossed my mind that I would one day get an OAE award," Yen Matsutomi said. "I remember sitting in the OAE banquet when I was a Purdue student, admiring in awe at the achievements that the awardees have accomplished. Being selected as an OAE means a great deal to me and is deeply humbling."

DeLaurentis was one of two professors on Purdue's campus selected to receive the faculty award for leadership.

As renowned as Steven Collicott is within the aerospace industry for his research in low gravity fluid dynamics and as a leader in advocacy for suborbital commercial spaceflight -- and he appreciates both of those roles -- there's little doubt from former students that his most profound impact is beyond research and engagement.