Aviation Week Network, in collaboration with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), has announced the winners of its awards program, “Tomorrow’s Technology Leaders: The 20 Twenties.”
The awards recognize students earning STEM degrees who are nominated by their universities on the basis of their academic performance, civic contribution and research or design project. Most importantly, the program brings together technology hiring managers, students and faculty around the world to recognize what’s needed for business and academic success. The students begin building a network comprised of the technical experts who have built the industry, the universities gain visibility for high-quality educational opportunity provided to the students, and hiring managers gain knowledge about the best of the best in the next generation of aerospace talent.
“We believe cultivating the next-generation is vitally important. These students are all doing innovative work to solve challenges within our industry and we’re thrilled to recognize them as winners of the prestigious 20 Twenties program,” said Greg Hamilton, President, Aviation Week Network. “We look forward to celebrating them as well as their academic talents, high-value research and civic service this winter.”
“The passion and dedication to community service mark these winners as 20 future leaders of aerospace,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “We can expect them to bring fresh ideas to the challenges facing us both here on Earth and beyond our solar system. We look forward to following their accomplishments and how they shape the future of aeronautics and astronautics.”
This year’s recognition program had qualified nominees from 49 different universities representing seven countries. The winners will be honored during Aviation Week Network’s 63rd Annual Laureates Awards March 12 at the National Building Museum, Washington, DC. The 2020 20 Twenties winners are (in alphabetical order):
Emily Beckman, Purdue University
Valerie Bernstein, University of Colorado Boulder
Kate Byrd, Harvard University
Katherine Carroll, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Sean Devey, University of Alabama
Paula do Vale Pereira, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
S. Reza Fattahi M., Sharif University of Technology
Kanika Gakhar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Shannon Gatta, University of Washington
Jane Gillette, University of Alabama
Alexis Hepburn, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Chloe Johnson, University of Texas at Austin
Michelle Lin, University of Colorado Boulder
Julia Mihaylov, Johns Hopkins University
Victoria Pellerito, Lawrence Technological University
Ethan Plaehn, Purdue University
Simon Shuham, University of Colorado Boulder
Gautham Viswaroopan, University of Colorado Boulder
Laura Yenchesky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David Zuehlke, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
