Page 24 - Aerotech News and Review, Oct 5 2018 - NASA Anniversary Special

Flight Test Historical Foundation STEM Scholarships in Memory of C. Gordon Fullerton and William J. “Pete” Knight
The Flight Test Historical Foundation, as a part of its mission to help preserve and interpret aero- space history, hopes to inspire future pilots, engineers and technicians to design, build, test and manage products and programs that will continue to create that history for generations to come.
To continue to inspire and promote educational and career pursuits in aviation and space, the foun- dation will award two scholarships to deserving engineering discipline students who are pursuing education and careers in aerospace at a California academic institution.
Honoring two legendary test pilots, scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each will be awarded dur- ing the 2018 Gathering of Eagles banquet and celebration.
Gordon Fullerton’s career as an Air Force and NASA research and test pilot, and NASA astronaut, spanned nearly 50 years.
An Oregon native, Fullerton earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. During his outstanding career, Fullerton flew on two Space Shuttle missions logging 382 hours in orbit. Gordon amassed more than 16,000 flight hours in 135 different aircraft. A retired U.S. Air Force colonel, he also served as NASA’s Associate Direc- tor of Flight Operations and Chief of the Flight Crew Branch at the Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center. Fullerton has received numerous civilian and military honors, including induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, International Space Hall of Fame and named a Fellow of the Society
Recipient of the William J. “Pete” Knight
Memorial Scholarship
Britney Jaworski
Britney Jaworski is a junior at the California State University, Long Beach-Antelope Valley Engineering Program.
She matriculated to this program from Antelope Valley College in the Spring semester of 2017 and plans to graduate with a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering in December of 2019.
When Britney was in the 8th grade, she and a friend made a pact to become engineers in the aviation field. They were going to either design or fly aircraft.
Following a move to the Antelope Valley and
exposure to the vast amount of aerospace activity
in the skies above, she knew engineering was for
her. During her freshman-sophomore year at AVC,
she was able to intern with NASA at Edwards and
be exposed to flight test. It helped her understand
the nature of flight test, systems engineering and
gave her an appreciation of aerospace engineer-
ing. Currently, Britney is interning in avionics at
Edwards Air Force Base, creating test screens for
specific parameters to be used in in-flight testing.
These opportunities have helped her develop an
understanding of the integration of aircraft sys-
tems and establish an awareness of their impor-
tance for the safety and mission of the war fighter. Britney has been inspired to learn more, and upon graduation, to pursue a career in aerospace engineering and flight test.
Master of ceremonies
The emcee for the 2018 Gathering of Eagles is “Evil” Bill Gray, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, and the chief test pilot at the USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. His 20 years on active duty included assignments as a T-37 IP, FB-111 IP, and test pilot on the F-15, T-38, T-6A, and F-117. Evil is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School, and a recipient of the AIAA Chanute Award for lifetime achievement in flight test engineering and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots’ Doolittle Award. He is an SETP Fellow and an Eagle of the Flight Test Historical Foundation.
Panel moderator
Our panel moderator this evening is Col. Angela W. Suplisson, vice commander of the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
The AFTC is a $31 billion enterprise of more than 18,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel across Edwards AFB, Eglin AFB, Fla., and Arnold AFB, Tenn. The AFTC provides developmental test and evaluation of experimental and research manned and unmanned air, space and cyber systems for the military services, DARPA, NASA and international partners. It is also the home of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.
Suplisson is a 1991 graduate of the Air Force Academy, and attended the USAF Test Pilot School in Class 95A, the “Spin Doctors.” After graduating from TPS, she stayed at Edwards and was assigned to the 416th Flight Test Squadron, where she performed weapons and avionics flight testing on U.S. and foreign military sales F-16s. She then moved to the 410th Flight Test Squadron at Plant 42, Palmdale, Calif., where she served as a Flight Test Engineer and Flight Commander for F-117 low observable and weapons testing.
After numerous assignments including teaching at the Air Force Academy, she returned to Edwards in her current position in 2017.
of Experimental Test Pilots.
Fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut, and legislator, William J. “Pete” Knight still holds the world’s
speed record for winged powered flight.
Born in Noblesville, Ind., he earned his commission and pilot wings through the Aviation Cadet
Program, then a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
After graduating from the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Knight was subsequently involved in several flight test programs, including the F-l00 Super
Sabre, the X-20 Dyna Soar and, most notably, the X-15.
In 1967, he piloted the X-15A-2 to the speed of Mach 6.7. Knight retired from the Air Force in
1982 as vice commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center (now the Air Force Test Center), after accumulating more than 7,000 flying hours in over l00 different military and civilian aircraft. He then went on to a career in politics, starting as the Chairman of the FTHF Board of Directors and ending as a California State Senator, 17th Senate Disctrict, until the time of his passing in 2004.
The Fullerton and Knight Scholarship recipients are selected using criteria that includes being a stu- dent enrolled in an accredited California institution pursuing a degree in an Engineering field leading to a career in the aerospace industry; a California resident (with emphasis upon the Greater Antelope Val- ley); maintaining a 3.5 GPA on a 4-point scale; and recommendations from academic counselors/deans.
Recipient of the C. Gordon Fullerton
Memorial Scholarship
Sharon Gonzales
Sharon Gonzales is a junior at the California State University, Long Beach-Antelope Valley Engineering Program.
She matriculated to this program from Antelope Valley College in the Spring semester of 2016 with an AA and AS for Transfer in Mathematics. She plans to graduate with a Bachelors of Me- chanical Engineering in December of 2019.
In high school, Gonzales had a love for math-
ematics and a desire to be an architect. She started
her college education with this as a goal, but the
financial realities facing her family prevented
her from continuing and she had to find a job. In
2001, she began work for the Target Corporation
in customer service, and Archer Management, as
a clerk. Along the way, she married and over a
period of six years had three children and dedi-
cated herself to being a wife and mother. Sharon
volunteered with the Palmtree Elementary Head
Start Program, El Dorado Elementary field trips,
AYSO Soccer, and First Robotics Competitions.
However, as she heard the sonic booms over the
skies of the Antelope Valley, and while her house
rattled, she wondered and questioned “How are sonic booms are created? Could, I, with flight testing ... reduce the noise of sonic booms?” Clearly Sharon’s desire to learn and understand physical phe- nomena was strong. In Spring 2013, Sharon enrolled at Antelope Valley College, knowing that, after a hiatus of over 12 years, courses in mathematics, physics and chemistry would be a challenge. She worked hard, persevered, and once again thought about architecture and even computer engineering as eventual career goals. However, her experiences in a course entitled Introduction to Engineering, and a presentation by Dr. Ken Santarelli, former director of the CSULB-AV Engineering Program, changed this goal to aerospace engineering. Santarelli’s passion for engineering and the CSULB-AV Engineering Program convinced her that she would transfer to the Antelope Valley Engineering Program to follow her dream. Now, with three semesters to graduation, Sharon is well on her way and she would love to add to her engineering education by having an opportunity to intern with a local aerospace company.
Achieving her goal of being a mechanical engineer in flight test, a male-dominated profession, has been a challenge for Sharon. Yet, along the way, she also came to realize she wants to be seen as a role model for other young women, set a good example, and to support and encourage them to set goals, work hard and follow their dreams, as she has.
HONOREE, from 3A
mile below ground at the South Pole.
She joined the Berkeley Lab team for a research project in the summer of 2008. “I
liked everything about the project, so I joined them formally when I finished the Master’s degree in 2010,” she says.
Her doctoral research involved measuring the size of the muon neutrino. “No one has done this measurement before, because accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider can’t reach that high of energy,” she says. “I used cosmic rays as the source, which are much higher in energy than the LHC can make.” She found the muon neutrino and completed all the PhD requirements December 2016.
Last year, a rare teaching position opened at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, and Miarecki jumped at the chance to fulfill that goal in her career. She has now been an instructor at the Academy for almost two years, while remaining a Berkeley Lab affiliate with the IceCube project.
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