25 Will Intern With NASA Researchers

NASA has selected 25 graduate and undergraduate students to receive the agency's Aeronautics Scholarship for the 2010-11 school year. The recipients will intern with NASA researchers and work on projects to efficiently manage air traffic, improve safety, and reduce noise and emissions.

The recipients were selected from hundreds of applications. The scholarship program, which is in its third year, was designed to aid students enrolled in aeronautics, aviation or related study fields.

"Our scholarship recipients will bring new insights and fresh approaches to fundamental and systems' research aimed at meeting some of the most daunting challenges in aeronautics, such as mitigating the environmental impacts of air transportation or opening the skies to robotic aircraft," said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington.

The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program annually awards 20 two-year undergraduate scholarships, plus summer internships, and five two- or three-year graduate scholarships, plus summer internships. Undergraduate winners receive $15,000 annually to cover tuition costs for two years and a $10,000 stipend during their NASA internship. Graduate winners receive approximately $35,000 annually for up to three years and $10,000 stipends for as many as two summer internships. To maintain their scholarships, recipients must meet the academic standards of their schools.

"These scholarships have a double benefit," Shin said. "They help students link their interests with possible future careers, and they help NASA identify and develop the skills needed to fulfill the agency's aeronautics mission. We are fostering the next generation aerospace workforce in a tangible way."

Online applications for the fall 2011 scholarship year will be accepted beginning in September. Applicants must be citizens of the United States or its territories.

FMI: www.aeronautics.nasa.gov