Aerospace Honors Student Named Researcher of the Year

Aerospace Engineering senior, Ryan Lebois, has been named the University of Maryland’s Undergraduate Student Researcher of the Year by Donna Hamilton, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Ryan’s research mentor, Dr. Liam Healy, nominated him for this annual recognition and he was selected from a very competitive and talented pool of student researchers. This award was presented to Ryan at the Undergraduate Research Day on April 22nd and the award also includes a $500 stipend.

In his nomination, Professor Healy described the complicated work and the multiple tasks that were part of Ryan’s research, and stated: “Any one of these tasks would have made a good student research project, but taking into account several different and potentially conflicting requirements and goals shows unusual ability, organization, dedication, and independence. This is truly unusual for an undergraduate and even many professionals with many years of experience don't show this level of skill.” Ryan’s project, a “Study of the Feasibility of Drag Flaps for Satellite Constellation Station Keeping,” was his culminating effort in the Aerospace Engineering honors program. Following graduation, Ryan will be working for Applied Defense Solutions in Fulton, MD.

Published April 23, 2009