Andrew Galassi, a mechanical engineering undergraduate student from Arroyo Grande, California, was one of two Georgia Tech students recently awarded a scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). Each year, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation provides more than 50 scholarships to the brightest and most talented college students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The prestigious Astronaut Scholarship is known nationwide for being among the largest merit-based monetary scholarships awarded to undergraduate STEM juniors and seniors.

Galassi’s application focused on his internships at Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

At Caltech Galassi worked in Aaron Ames’s lab on a proof-of-concept structure for a bouncing drone to explore subterranean environments, as well as the design, build, and control of a robotic inverted pendulum on a cart testbed. His fall internship at NASA JPL, which was extended into the summer and fall of 2020, focused mainly on robotics research and development forMars Sample Return, an international effort to get samples back from another planet for the first time.

At Georgia Tech Galassi worked in the Space Systems Design Lab on the RECONSO CubeSat with Marcus Holzinger and Glenn Lightsey in the School of Aerospace Engineering, and spent a semester working with Ye Zhao in the Woodruff School on a robotic hand demonstration for International Robotics Week.

Galassi is particularly excited about the community of scholars and working professionals he will be a part of as an Astronaut Scholarship recipient.

“I think the scholarship has a really exciting history, starting all the way back with the Mercury 7 astronauts. Now the organization has a great reputation for getting all the recipients and alumni together for conferences and events as well as pairing up students and alumni for mentorship.”

ASF is known for having a life-long relationship with each astronaut scholar and provides them with  mentors, professional and personal development, networking with astronauts, C-suite level executives and industry leaders to help advance their careers. The other Georgia Tech ASF scholarship recipient this year is biomedical engineering student Keval Bollavaram. Students interested in applying for this scholarship, or other high profile national scholarships, are encouraged to work with Prestigious Fellowships Advisor Karen Mura from the Georgia Tech Career Center (formerly the Center for Career Discovery and Development) who can assist with the application packages.