Techers Selected as Future Leaders in Aerospace

Three Techers were selected from a large pool of candidates to attend the Future Leaders in Aerospace Symposium hosted by Stanford University in May. Graduate student Sorina Lupu (MS '21), postdoctoral scholar research associate in chemistry Marlini Simoes, and postdoctoral scholar research associate in aerospace Xinyi Huang attended the two-day symposium, which offers professional development experience for aerospace engineers in academia and research. This year's theme was "Keeping the Momentum After a Breakthrough".

"It was an honor to be selected among the rising stars and future leaders in the aerospace field for this privileged symposium," Simoes says. "This allowed us not only to present our research but also to engage with industry and academic professionals to create new impactful research partnerships."

Co-sponsored by Stanford, MIT, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Pennsylvania State University, the symposium gave the doctoral and postdoctoral researchers an opportunity to discuss the future of aerospace engineering, learn more about careers in academia, and engage with industry and government professionals. The mentors included Todd Citron, chief technology officer of the Boeing Company; Hannah Alpert, an aerospace engineer at NASA Ames Research Center; and Andrea Kritcher, a design physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

"It was a privilege to present to reputed professors from leading universities and industry experts," Lupu says. "Their invaluable advice significantly enriched our understanding of how to secure a successful career in academia."

"This was a great chance for us to show our capabilities, exchange ideas, and keep us motivated for future leadership in aerospace engineering," Huang says.