Professor Paul A. Lagace, chairman of the undergraduate program, presided at the recent Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics undergraduate awards dinner and recognition of the Class of '96. Professor Earll M. Murman, head of the department, presented many of the awards.
Professor Eugene E. Covert, who is retiring this month after a long teaching and research career at the Institute, was the speaker for the occasion. The student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) presented the department's teaching award to Professor Covert. Professor Jack L. Kerrebrock, also retiring in June, was the recipient of the department advising award, also given by the AIAA student chapter.
The James Means Memorial Award for excellence in flight vehicle engineering was given to Alex Y. Lee, a senior from Guelph, Ont., and to Sherwin S. Chen, a senior from Roslyn, NY. Mr. Chen was also a recipient of the Andrew G. Morsa Memorial Award.
The James Means Memorial Award for excellence in space systems engineering was given to Malinda K. Lutz, a senior from La Palma, CA, Robert L. Stephenson Jr., a senior from Tellico Plains, TN, and Tresa V. Vidayathil, a senior from New City, NY.
The Henry Webb Salisbury Award for academic excellence was shared by Dennis A. Burianek, a senior from Bremerton, WA, and Corinne R. Ilvedson, a senior from Auburn, WA. In February, Mr. Burianek and Ms. Ilvedson also received the John F. McCarthy Jr. Scholarship and the James E. Cunningham Scholarship respectively.
The Admiral Luis De Florez Prize for original thinking or ingenuity was awarded to five students in the department: Atif I. Chaudry, a senior from Greenwich, CT; Kerem Limon, a junior from Istanbul, Turkey; Peter S. Lively, a junior from Gaithersburg, MD; Jason Prest, a senior from Vero Beach, FL; and Craig A. Zimmerman, a senior from Big Lake, MN.
Jason C. Bunn, a senior from Manalapan, NJ; and Sherwin Chen (see above) received the Andrew G. Morsa Memorial Award for demonstrating ingenuity and initiative in the application of computers to the field of aeronautics and astronautics.
The Unified Engineering Award was given to Kei Y. Tang, a graduate student from Wilmette, IL, for outstanding devotion to and leadership of the team of student assistants in Unified Engineering.
Takayuki Kohata (Taka), a sophomore from Yokohama-shi, Japan, received the Yngve K. Raustein Memorial Award, "as the student in Unified Engineering who best exemplifies the spirit of Yngve Raustein, and for significant achievement in Unified Engineering."
The David J. Shapiro Memorial Award was given to Akwasi A. Apori, a sophomore from Houston, TX, for foreign travel for the enhancement of scientific/technical studies by an undergraduate student in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mr. Apori will spend his junior year at the Ecole Nationale Superieure de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace (Sup'Aero) in Toulouse, France.
The Apollo Program Prize for the best undergraduate research project on the subject of humans in space was awarded to Patricia B. Schmidt, a senior from Biloxi, MS. As part of the Apollo Prize, Ms. Schmidt will have the opportunity to see the launch of a space vehicle. The Apollo Program Prize was established earlier this year by Professor Laurence R. Young, the first Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics, and Dr. Lewis Nashner '65, to stimulate young people to follow in the path of the Apollo Program.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 5, 1996.
