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

Jennifer Berry
University of Canterbury
Mechanical Engineering
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), First Class - 2022
2022 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate

Claire Blaske
Arizona State University
Astrophysics
Bachelor of Science - 2023
2022 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

Brooke Carruthers
University of Arizona
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Bachelor of Science - 2023
2022 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate

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

Sabrina NoorAhmad-Yarzada
University of California, Davis
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Bachelor of Science - 2023
2022 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate

Theo O’Neill
University of Virginia
Astronomy-Physics and Applied Statistics
Bachelor of Science - 2022
2022 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