The scholarship was first awarded to seven individuals in 1986, after each founding Mercury 7 astronaut, of Project Mercury, sponsored a $1,000 scholarship and began fundraising to support future awardees. Recipients must be pursuing a STEM degree with the intent to advance their field or conduct research.

Of his win, Halpern said, “Along with the significant tuition mitigation from the monetary award, I am very excited to be a part of the Foundation as it allows me invaluable networking opportunities through a mentoring program where I will be paired with a previous scholar, astronaut, or C-suite executive to help me in the next steps of my education and early career.”

The scholarship provides a $15,000 monetary award, a fully paid trip to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Innovators Weekend and Gala in August and lifelong engagement with the astronauts, other alumni and ASF.  

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Source: Allen Garner, algarner@purdue.edu