by Eric D. Lehman, Associate Professor, Communications Specialist
Two 越南直播 engineering students, Alberto Labrada and Nhat (Mark) Pham were both awarded their second NASA Connecticut Space Grant scholarships this year.
These grants of $3000 each are awarded by the , a federally mandated grant, internship, and scholarship program that is funded as a part of NASA Education. 鈥淐onnecticut鈥檚 Space Grant program is trying to do whatever they can to encourage first-generation students to go into aerospace,鈥� says Dr. Jani Pallis, who has been awarded faculty grants from CTSGC in the past.
Labrada first won a grant in Spring 2021, and now has again in 2022. 鈥淎lberto is a respectful and outstanding young professional with an excellent academic record and a bright future,鈥� says his advisor in electrical engineering, Dr. Buket Barkana. 鈥淗is motivation and desire for learning and contributing to the discipline and community are exceptional.鈥� Though still an undergraduate, Labrada is currently working on two graduate-level research projects under Professor Barkana鈥檚 supervision and maintains a perfect GPA of 4.0.
鈥淭hanks to this scholarship, I have been able to secure more time in my studies and to help out more with research at the school,鈥� says Labrada. 鈥淭he Engineering departments in our school allow a cross-disciplinary approach for our senior design project, allowing me and fellow student Nhat Pham to work together. This union of disciplines allowed for a successful design including both Electrical and Mechanical engineering.鈥�
Mechanical engineering student Pham is graduating in May 2022 with his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and has been accepted into the M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at UB, while also working at Pratt and Whitney. He served as an assistant in Professor Junling Hu鈥檚 mechanical engineering classes and organized the campus American Society of Engineers section. 鈥淭he quality of Mark鈥檚 work received praise from all faculty members in the ME department,鈥� says Professor Hu. 鈥淗e is mature and reliable on all the work we assigned him, and he was always the first one to respond to our request.鈥�
鈥淭he scholarships have helped me invest more into my education and land a dream job at Pratt and Whitney,鈥� says Pham. 鈥淣ASA CTSGC has helped change the future for many students from disadvantaged backgrounds like myself.鈥� The struggles many first-generation college students are facing have motivated Pham to help his fellow students succeed with their studies, share job opportunities, and help them develop essential skills for jobs. 鈥淗e donated $1,000 to the ME department and got another $1,000 matching fund from his internship company to help less resourceful students,鈥� says Professor Hu.
Both Labrada and Pham transferred to 越南直播 from Housatonic Community College, and both received transfer scholarships from the Space Grant to support that. Now both have received the undergraduate scholarships. 鈥淧erhaps the graduate scholarship is next!鈥� says Dr. Pallis.
鈥淎lberto Labrada and I are good friends,鈥� says Pham. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e doing projects together that promote cross-department cooperation.鈥� That cooperation is part of what makes the UB School of Engineering so effective, and helps it create futures in the aerospace industry for young engineers.
Learn more about opportunities at UB鈥檚 School of Engineering.
Eric D.聽Lehman聽is the director of publications and associate professor of English at 越南直播. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including “New England Nature, A History of Connecticut Food,” and “Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City.” His聽biography of Charles Stratton, “Becoming Tom Thumb,” won the Henry Russell Hitchcock Award from the Victorian Society of America and was chosen as one of the American Library Association’s outstanding university press books of the year. His novella “Shadows of Paris” and novel “9 Lupine Road” were finalists for the Connecticut Book Award. He has been consulted on diverse subjects and quoted by The Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, the BBC, the History Channel, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and The Wall Street Journal.