Meet some of our past USRA Scholarship winners! Learn how they got interested in their fields, the type of work they've been doing, and advice they have for other students and scholarship seekers.
Natalie Allen
University of Rochester
Physics and Astronomy
Bachelor of Science - 2020
2019 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Elizabeth Bondi
Rochester Institute of Technology
Imaging Science
Bachelor of Science - 2016
2015 USRA Scholarship Winner
Joseph Breeden
University of Maryland
Aerospace Engineering & Applied Mathematics
Bachelor of Science - 2019
2017 USRA Scholarship Winner
Joheen Chakraborty
Columbia University
Astrophysics and Computer Science
Bachelor of Arts - 2022
2021 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Bryce Cousins
Indiana University
Physics & Astrophysics
Bachelor of Science - 2019
2018 USRA Scholarship Winner
Zoe de Beurs
University of Texas at Austin
Physics and Astronomy
Bachelor of Science - 2021
2020 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Andrea (Andy) de Fonseca
Illinois Institute of Technology
Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science & Master’s
of Engineering - 2023
2020 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Jeremy Dietrich
Harvard University
Astrophysics and Physics
Bachelor of Science - 2017
2015 USRA Scholarship Winner
Destiny Fawley
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2020
2018 USRA Scholarship Winner
Emily Garhart
University of Maryland
Astrophysics and Physics
Bachelor of Science - 2017
2016 USRA Scholarship Winner
Shannon Gatta
University of Washington
Informatics
Bachelor of Science - 2020
2017 USRA Scholarship Winner
Namrah Habib
University of Arizona
Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2017
2015 USRA Scholarship Winner
Anthony Hennig
Rochester Institute of Technology
Mechanical Engineering (B.S. 2016)
Science, Technology, and Public Policy (M.S. 2016)
2015 USRA Scholarship Winner
Maryam Hussaini
University of Texas at Austin
Physics and Astronomy
Bachelor of Science – 2021
2020 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Lindsey Jacobson
North Carolina State University
Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2022
2021 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Emily Jewell
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Engineering Mechanics and Mathematics
Bachelor of Science - 2018
2017 USRA Scholarship Winner
Kristina Kaldon
Pennsylvania State University
Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Bachelor of Science - 2015
2014 USRA Scholarship Winner
Sarah Ketchersid
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2022
2021 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Kristine Khieu
University of California, San Diego
Bioengineering-Biosystems
Bachelor of Science - 2019
2017 USRA Scholarship Winner
Angela Kimber
University of Washington
Chemical Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2017
2016 USRA Scholarship Winner
Charles Law
Harvard University
Physics and Astrophysics
Bachelor of Arts - 2017
2016 USRA Scholarship Winner
Megan Li
University of California, San Diego
Physics, with Specialization in Astrophysics
Bachelor of Science - 2022
2021 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Hannah Lyons
University of Florida - Gainesville
Microbiology and Cell Science
Bachelor of Science - 2020
2018 USRA Scholarship Winner
Peter Martin
Wesleyan University
Chemistry and Earth Science
Bachelor of Science - 2014
2013 USRA Scholarship Winner
Katherine Melbourne
Yale University
Astronomy
Bachelor of Science - 2019
2019 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Kevin Ortiz Ceballos
University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Physics, second concentration in Philosophy
Bachelor of Science, 2021
2019 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Joanna Rivero
University of Pittsburgh
Mechanical Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2018
2017 USRA Scholarship Winner
Wilbert Ruperto-Hernández
University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez
Mechanical Engineering
Bachelor of Science – 2022
2020 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Aniket Sanghi
University of Texas at Austin
Astronomy and Physics
Bachelor of Science - 2023
2021 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate
Mahlet Shiferaw
Harvard University
Astrophysics
Bachelor of Science - 2020
2018 USRA Scholarship Winner
Connor Tinker
Purdue University
Mechanical Engineering and Planetary Science
Bachelor of Science - 2021
2018 USRA Scholarship Winner
Tyler Valentine
University of Washington
Earth and Space Sciences
Bachelor of Science - 2018
2017 USRA Scholarship Winner
Shreyas Vissapragada
Columbia University
Astrophysics & Computer Science
Bachelor of Arts - 2017
2016 USRA Scholarship Winner
Emily Wislowski
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Physics (with concentration in Astronomy)
Bachelor of Science - 2015
Masters of Science - 2016
2014 USRA Scholarship Winner
Qicheng Zhang
University of California, Santa Barbara
Physics
Bachelor of Science - 2017
2016 USRA Scholarship Winner
