Congratulations to Our 2023 Department Honors & Award Recipients

On May 10, the Department of Aerospace Engineering, along with the A. James Clark School of Engineering will celebrate more than 75 undergraduate students for their outstanding excellence in academics, leadership, and service during the school’s Annual Honors and Awards Ceremony.

Among this year’s recipients are seven aerospace engineering students recognized with the following awards:

The Department of Aerospace Engineering Gessow Academic Achievement Award is presented to a graduating senior in the department who has attained the highest overall academic average.

Awarded to Anish Sankla

The Joseph Guthrie Memorial Scholarship Award is presented to those juniors in the department who have attained the highest overall academic average.

Awarded to Peter Capozzoli and Gustavo Lang, Jr.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to the student who has made the most outstanding contribution through scholarship and service to the student branch and the department.

Awarded to Allen Schnaitmann

The Department of Aerospace Engineering Chair’s Award is presented to those students who have made the most outstanding contributions through excellence in academics and outstanding service and leadership to the department.

Awarded to Kruti Bhingradiya, Michael Kalin, and Madelyne Rossmann

The Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics Award is presented to the student who has made the most outstanding contribution through scholarship and service to the organization and the department.

Awarded to Madelyne Rossman

About the Awardees

Kruti Bhingradiya is a junior international student pursuing aerospace engineering with a minor in robotics and autonomous systems. She is an undergraduate researcher with the Collective Dynamics and Controls Lab working on multi vehicle control and is also part of the Near Space Balloon Payload Program, developing flight hardware for near-space payloads. Kruti serves as secretary of Sigma Gamma Tau and is on the board of the UMD chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She is a teaching fellow for the Maryland Robotics Center and the department of aero- space engineering for the robotics programming course.

Peter Capozzoli is a junior aerospace engineering student with a 4.0 GPA. He is a member of the Honors Humanities Program and the aerospace departmental honors program. He is also a member of the University of Maryland’s Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center. Outside of academics, Peter runs for the University of Maryland’s varsity track team.

Michael Kalin is a senior aerospace engineering major on the space track. He is a leader within the UMD Balloon Payload Program and is the treasurer of both the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Honors Society UMD chapters. Michael has also represented the aerospace department as a part of its Alumni Cup team for all four years of his college career. After graduation, Michael will be working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in the Space Electronics group, developing the avionics for NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission.

Gustavo Lang, Jr. is a junior aerospace engineering major and father to two boys. He has designed rear wings for the Terps Racing Electric Vehicle and is actively engaged with the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Gustavo completed a co-op at Apple as a Mac Product Design Engineer, where he was selected Intern of the Year. He will intern this summer at Boeing as a liaison engineer on the NASA Space Launch System. His goal post-graduation is to work in the space sector.

Madelyne Rossmann is a senior aerospace engineering major and robotics and autonomous systems minor. She is currently president of UMD’s Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics, an organization devoted to empowering women in the field of aerospace engineering. She is a teaching fellow for Control of Aerospace Systems, and has been a teaching fellow for Computing Fundamentals for Engineers. Madelyne started as an intern at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory this spring and is planning to attend the University of Maryland for graduate school in the fall as she continues her internship.

Anish Sankla is a senior aerospace engineering student with a 4.0 GPA. He is a member of the Aerospace Engineering Honors Program, with which he is researching and developing a liquid bi-propellant rocket engine under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Cadou. Anish also helped found SEDS@UMD, a club on campus promoting space-based technical projects, and is leading their liquid rocket team in developing a 350lb thrust engine. After graduation, Anish will be a mechanical engineer at Venturi Astrolab, a startup in Los Angeles designing and building rovers for the Moon and Mars.

Allen Schnaitmann is a senior aerospace engineering student with a minor in project management. He is the current president of the UMD chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as the president of the UMD chapter of the Society of American Military Engineers. From his freshman through junior years, Allen was an active member of the Terrapin Rocket Team and served as the hybrid propulsion lead last year. After he graduates, Allen will work with Boeing’s Phantom Works as a propulsion engineer while he pursues his master’s degree part-time.

Published May 9, 2023