AHS Announces 2018 Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarship Recipients
$90,000 in Scholarships Awarded to 25 Students
Fairfax, Virginia, March 30, 2018 — AHS International, The Vertical Flight Society, is pleased to announce its 2018 Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) scholarship recipients. Scholarships totaling $90,000 were awarded this year to 25 of the world’s most talented engineering students interested in vertical flight.
“We are delighted to recognize 25 of the top engineering students from around the world,” said AHS International Executive Director Mike Hirschberg. “Since 1977, our Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarships have helped inspire generations of students to pursue careers in vertical flight, with many now holding leadership positions in industry, academia and government.”
The following are this year’s awardees, who will be recognized at the AHS Grand Awards Banquet on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. The banquet is one of the highlights of the AHS International 74th Annual Forum & Technology Display at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Bachelor Degree Recipients
- Mr. Addison Flagle, Pennsylvania College of Technology — Dean Carico Memorial Scholarship, named for the US Navy rotary wing ship suitability engineer.
- Mr. James McElreath, Texas A&M University College Station* — Joseph P. Cribbins Scholarship, honoring the individual who had perhaps the most influence and long-term impact on US Army Aviation logistics in the 20th century.
- Mr. Lorenzo Novoa, University of Texas Arlington — Tom Wood Honorary Scholarship, which recognizes more than 50 years of technical contributions to Bell Helicopter by Mr. Wood.
- Mr. Nathaniel Reed, Auburn University — Dr. Samuel Tribble Crews, V, Scholarship, named for the US Army Aviation leader of aeromechanics, HUMS and handling qualities technology.
- Mr. Peter Ryseck, University of Maryland — Prof. Donald M. Layton Scholarship, honoring the former US Naval Postgraduate School professor and system safety expert.
- Mr. Sourav Sinha, Indian Institute of Technology — Evan Sampatacos Scholarship, remembering the former McDonnell Douglas/Boeing engineer.
Master Degree Recipients
- Mr. Jason Cornelius, Pennsylvania State University* — Bell Scholarship, provided by a generous VFF endowment from the company.
- Mr. Brian Eberle, Georgia Institute of Technology — Charles C. Crawford Scholarship, named in memory of the former Army Aviation development leader, GTRI researcher and past AHS Board Chair.
- Mr. Daniel Escobar, University of Maryland — Bob Lynn Memorial Scholarship, which honors the memory of the former Bell Helicopter executive and AHS leader par excellence.
- Mr. Bochan Lee, Texas A&M University College Station — Dr. Wel Chong (Ben) Sim Memorial Scholarship, honoring the US Army acoustics research scientist.
- Mr. Michael McKay, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — Larry Doyle Scholarship, honoring the former Sikorsky Aircraft chief of flight instrumentation.
- Ms. Wanyi Ng, University of Maryland — Hal Andrews Scholarship, which remembers a preeminent Navy aviation engineer, advisor and historian.
- Ms. Bernadine Passe, University of Maryland — Eric Robeson Memorial Scholarship, honoring an outstanding engineer in the US Army’s Aviation Integration Directorate.
- Mr. Max Daniel Sokollek, Georgia Institute of Technology — Dr. E. Roberts (Bob) Wood Scholarship, named for a preeminent aeromechanics engineer and beloved professor who inspired generations.
- Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Pennsylvania State University — John J. Schneider Scholarship, honoring the memory of a preeminent VTOL aircraft designer and historian.
Doctorate Degree Recipients
- Mr. David A. Coleman, Texas A&M University College Station — Barry J. Baskett Scholarship, honoring the memory of a career US Army engineer who led Aviation Engineering and later managed the Aviation Technology Base Program.
- Mr. Roland Feil, Technical University of Munich — Friedrich Straub Memorial Scholarship, honoring the former senior manager of dynamics technology and technical fellow of The Boeing Company.
- Mr. Seyhan Gul, University of Maryland — Prof. Marat Tishchenko Scholarship, honoring the former head of the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, and professor at Moscow Aviation Institute and University of Maryland.
- Mr. Ahmad Haidar, Pennsylvania State University — Prof. Barnes McCormick Memorial Scholarship, honoring Penn State’s venerable Boeing Professor Emeritus.
- Mr. Atanu Halder, Texas A&M University College Station — Dr. John Zuk Scholarship, honoring the NASA engineer who was a champion of civil tiltrotor technology and applications.
- Mr. Nicholson Koukpaizan, Georgia Institute of Technology — Raymond W. Prouty Scholarship, which honors the memory of a pioneering helicopter engineer with a lifelong commitment to educating the rotorcraft community.
- Mr. Chams Eddine Mballo, Georgia Institute of Technology — Dr. Richard M. Carlson Scholarship, named for the former Hiller and Lockheed engineer who became the chief of the Army’s Advanced Systems Research and Analysis Office at Ames Research Center.
- Ms. Stacy Sidle, University of Maryland — Dr. Alfred Gessow Scholarship, honoring a pioneer in the helicopter field at NACA/NASA and founder of the University of Maryland rotorcraft center.
- Mr. Daiju Uehara, University of Texas Austin — Eugene K. Liberatore Scholarship, which honors the memory of a pioneering helicopter engineer, author and historian.
- Mr. Parker Vascik, Massachusetts Institute of Technology* — Dr. Jing Yen VFF Scholarship for Cost Awareness, given to the most qualified applicant with interest in improving the affordability of rotorcraft.
The top candidate in each category (marked above with an asterisk) has received special recognition. Each of the Bachelor scholarships includes a cash award of $3,000, while Mr. McElreath will receive $3,500 as the Joseph P. Cribbins Memorial Scholarship winner. The Masters and Doctorate scholarship winners receive $3,500, with Mr. Cornelius receiving $5,500 for the Bell Vertical Flight Scholarship and Mr. Vascik receiving the $6,500 Dr. Jing Yen Scholarship for Cost Awareness.
The VFF was established in 1967 as the philanthropic arm of AHS. Since 1977, the merit-based scholarship program has been a great success story: over 500 scholarships have been awarded since that time. The program has been greatly expanded in recent years, with the number of recipients nearly doubling in the last decade, and the total annual scholarship disbursement nearly tripling. Since 2012, more than 150 VFF scholarships totaling over $450,000 have been awarded — prior to this time, annual scholarships generally totaled about $33,000.
Last year, in honor of the VFF 50th Anniversary, AHS International kicked off an ongoing Capital Campaign to increase the size of its endowment, in the hopes that a sustained annual scholarship award level of $100,000 can be reached. For more information on the Vertical Flight Foundation or to donate to this important cause, please visit our VFF microsite at www.vtol.org/vff — donations can be designated for the 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign. A list of all past VFF scholarship winners and success stories are also available.
VFF and AHS are both recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)(3) charities. AHS International covers all overhead costs of administration and accounting, so 100% of every tax-deductible contribution to VFF goes directly to student scholarships. AHS also contributes a portion of its revenue to supplementing individual contributions.
Founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, Inc., AHS International, The Vertical Flight Society, is now the global resource for information on vertical flight technology. The Society advocates, promotes and supports global vertical flight technology and professional development.
AHS International — The Vertical Flight Society
2701 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 210, Fairfax, VA 22031 USA
phone: 1-703-684-6777; toll free: 1-855-AHS-INTL; fax: 1-703-739-9279
email: staff@vtol.org; website: www.vtol.org