2/15/2023 4 min read
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Illinois alumnus, NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain Scott “Scooter” Altman (BS Aero ’81) was back on campus this week to present two of MechSE’s undergraduate students with honors from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).
Justin Kao and Ethan Moore, both seniors in mechanical engineering, were the 2022-23 recipients of ASF scholarships; Altman joined an audience of about 300 in the Campus Instructional Facility to officially recognize the recipients and share his story in his talk entitled “Reach for the Stars.”
Founded in 1984 by the Mercury 7 astronauts, the foundation has provided more than $5 million in scholarship money to over 600 students. This marks the second consecutive year that Kao has won an ASF scholarship. He has had extensive experience in the aerospace world, including internships at Stoke Space Technologies, United Launch Alliance, NASA Johnson Space Center, and Boeing, and an undergraduate research position in the CHESS Center at Illinois. He is a previous captain of the Eco Illini Supermileage team. Kao is also a recent recipient of a competitive Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship.
Upon graduating this May, Kao will intern at Relativity Space, working as a structural engineer on Terran R, a fully additively manufactured rocket. He looks forward to developing his skills as an engineer and future leader in spaceflight, in a master’s degree program in aerospace engineering, with an emphasis in structures and materials. After graduate school, he aims to work on solving cutting-edge issues at space startups that enable greater access to space, for the benefit of humanity.
“I am excited to continue on my journey and work hard to reach my fullest potential, so that one day I can contribute to the incredible advancements we are making in the space industry,” said Kao. “Let us continue to inspire each other, to push the boundaries of what is possible, and to reach for the stars.”
Moore, a James Scholar honors student, has conducted research on environmental monitoring and exploration robotics for the past three years. With funding he was awarded by the Office of Undergraduate Research, he independently developed water quality sensing robots and machine learning algorithms that can predict future hazards in aquatic ecosystems. He got involved in undergraduate research by working on farming robots with the Distributed Autonomous Systems Lab and has since transitioned to the Augmented Listening Lab. There, he actively creates robots for acoustic applications like underwater localization. Before diving into research, Moore spent his youth engrossed in competitive robotics and has completed six automation engineering internships between Tesla, Raytheon Technologies, and II-VI Marlow. He spends his free time leading WYSE IMAGINE Robotics – a free, accessible, and inclusive weekly program he founded two years ago intent on breaking down barriers of entry to competitive robotics for disadvantaged youth in his community. Last year, Moore was one of just 55 students nationally to win a Udall Foundation scholarship.
“My fundamental motivation is always first seek to understand and second to rectify so that humanity may become better cohabitants and stewards of the universe we live in,” said Moore.
Altman was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1995. His years spent as a Naval Captain led him to pilot his first two space shuttle missions and then serve as commander on his final two missions. He is an accomplished fighter pilot, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Navy Commendation Medal, and was a 1987 award winner for outstanding achievement in Tactical Aviation, selected by the Association of Naval Aviation. Altman is also known for his aerial acrobatic flights in the 1986 movie Top Gun. In total, he spent more than 51 days in space during his four missions before retiring from NASA in 2010 to join the ASRC Federal family of companies.
In 1998, he served as pilot on Columbia during STS-90, the Neurolab mission, which studied the effects of microgravity on the brain and human nervous system. Two years later, in 2000, he piloted Atlantis on STS - 106 during a 12-day mission to prepare the International Space Station for the arrival of the first permanent crew. His final two missions saw Altman command Columbia on STS-109, the fourth mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope and on STS-125, the fifth and final mission to service the telescope and extend its useful lifetime.
You can also read about the event on the News-Gazette website >>