Oldani wins UIAA Young Alumni Award

MechSE alumna Anna Oldani (BS AgE 2012, MSME 2014, PhDME 2019) is one of two recipients of the 2024 Young Alumni Award from the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

The award recognizes alumni who are under the age of 35, and who have emerged as early leaders in their respective professional or civic endeavors. These individuals have demonstrated leadership and innovation and have proven themselves to be exceptional ambassadors for the University’s recent graduate and young alumni communities.

As a graduate student in MechSE, Oldani studied with Professor Tonghun Lee in his research lab and in the Center for UAS Propulsion (CUP). 

She is at the forefront of sustainable aviation research and policy, including fuel development and deployment and sustainable aviation technologies. She is the Chief Scientific and Technical Advisor for Environment and Energy at the Federal Aviation Administration, where she oversees university research at the Aviation Sustainability Center of Excellence (ASCENT) and coordinates with industry under the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) Program.

Oldani works across federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy through the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, to ensure the advancement of sustainable aviation goals. She also is advancing the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) Grant Program. She serves as co-rapporteur for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection’s Fuels Task Group, facilitating international dialogues and technical cooperation.

In 2023, she received a Secretary of Transportation Award for her work on the U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan, helping develop the U.S. aviation sector’s vision and plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. She also received a 2022 Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for her work on the SAF Grand Challenge.

Oldani will be formally recognized at the UIAA awards gala September 12.