ME undergraduate student Emily Kamienski has been selected as a recipient for the Astronaut Scholarship for the 2018-2019 academic year. This year the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has awarded 50 scholarships to students from 36 different universities across the nation. Astronaut Scholarships are awarded to students in their junior and senior year of college studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics with the intent to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their final degree. Astronaut Scholars are among the best and brightest minds in STEM who show initiative, creativity, and excellence in their chosen field.

Kamienski is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science and is particularly interested in gaining research experience. Through her involvement with research at the iReal lab (Intelligent Robotics and Emergent Automation Lab), Kamienski worked on the calibration and communication protocol for a project that involved achieving takeoff stability for a payload with multiple detachable rotors. Another project Kamienski worked on involved designing, building, and conducting initial testing of a prototype robot for measuring tree growth in an arboretum. In addition, as part of the Georgia Tech Motorsports team (the Formula SAE team), Kamienshi has gained valuable hands on experience by designing and fabricating parts for the competition car.

Kamienski plans to attend graduate school to become an expert in the robotics/aerospace field to be better positioned to have an impact in her field. She will be participating in the Innovators Gala in Washington D.C. in late August and is looking forward to the opportunity of building connections with astronauts and other high achieving innovators. Kamienski would like to thank the Georgia Tech selection committee for nominating her for this award and would also like to thank Dr. Kathryn Meehan for helping her throughout the application process.