The Women in Research and Engineering Development (WiRED) program at Emergent Space Technologies, Inc., seeks to promote the retention of women undergraduate students in aerospace engineering and related fields of study, to incentivize them to complete their degree, and to identify, train and recruit bright women engineers as potential future hires for our company. We hope to achieve these goals through two separate components of the program: a scholarship awarded to qualifying women at the start of their Junior year of their undergraduate education and a paid summer internship at an Emergent facility awarded to qualifying women who have completed their Junior year of their aerospace engineering degree. The 2018 WiRED Scholarship recipients listed below will each receive $1,000 for the 2018-19 academic year.
Ginger Beerman
University of Colorado at Boulder
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Ginger is a senior in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is working towards a concurrent BS/MS degree with a focus on astrodynamics and satellite navigation systems. Outside of school, she works on the spaceflight operations team at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics where she helps command and maintain five NASA spacecraft. After graduating, Ginger hopes to find a job in the aerospace industry that relates to the astrodynamics field.
Haley Patel
University of Maryland
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Haley is a senior in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) with a keen interest in propulsion. She has previous internship experience at the Naval Surface Warfare Center where she learned about rocket propulsion and interior ballistics, and the Nyheim Plasma Institute where she studied the application of plasma physics in propulsion systems. She is currently pursuing honors research in aerodynamics and drag buildup in the hypersonic regime at the UMD High-Speed Aerodynamics and Propulsion Lab. She serves as the Vice President for the UMD AIAA 2018-2019 Design/Build/Fly Team, the aeronautical-track senior capstone course she participated in as an underclassman; the Public Affairs Officer for UMD Sigma Gamma Tau, an aerospace honors society; and a Peer Advisor at the Engineering Career Services Center. Lastly, she proudly represented the Clark School of Engineering as a Teaching Fellow for a first-year introductory engineering course (ENES100) in the Keystone Program.
Tia Scoggan
Purdue University
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Tia Scoggan is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University. In December, she will commission into the US Air Force as a Space Operations Officer working in satellite surveillance and reconnaissance. Throughout her entire life, Tia has aspired to work abroad in underdeveloped countries to teach, lead and inspire in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering And Math (STEM). She believes science, technology, engineering and math are critical components of a well-developed and stable society in today’s world, and hopes to become a global leader in technological and sustainable development after her military career.
Blaire Weinberg
University of Maryland
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Blaire has just started junior year as an Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Maryland, College Park. During the school year, she works in the Balloon Payload Program, helping launch student payloads on high altitude balloons. Blaire has found particular interest in the area of Guidance, Navigation, and Controls, and eventually wants to work on controls systems for space probes and satellites.