Two undergraduate students in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering – Katelyn Groenhout and Maxwell Kazman – are among 60 students nationally who have been awarded scholarships for the 2021-22 academic year by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).

The prestigious Astronaut Scholarship, initiated by the Mercury-7 astronauts, provides up to $15,000 for a year of undergraduate study. The scholarship is awarded annually to outstanding juniors and seniors who intend to pursue research-oriented careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Astronaut Scholars receive mentoring and professional development support, attend the Astronaut Foundation’s Innovators Gala in Orlando, Florida, and have the opportunity to participate in other ASF events.

Scholarship recipient Katelyn Groenhout is a member of Professor Paul Kohl’s lab at Georgia Tech, where she has worked on a project on anion-exchange membrane electrolyzers for clean production of hydrogen. After earning her PhD in chemical engineering, Groenhout plans to pursue a career in research and academia, with a focus on electrochemical energy solutions.

Her fellow Astronaut Scholar Maxwell Kazman is a member of Professor Mark Styczynski's lab at Georgia Tech, where he has worked on cell-free biosensors for low-resource detection and quantification of pathogenic DNA and RNA. After pursuing a PhD in bioengineering, Kazman plans to join the biotech industry and use synthetic biology to design new therapeutics.

Karen E. Mura, prestigious fellowships advisor in the Office of Undergraduate Education, said: “Katelyn is an enthusiastic and independent researcher with a very promising career in science and engineering. She approaches challenging projects in the lab with creativity and ingenuity. Maxwell is a confident student researcher, completing projects independently. He addresses setbacks in the lab patiently and systematically in order to achieve his goals.”

Prestigious Fellowships Advising is available to Georgia Tech students who want to apply for undergraduate awards such as Astronaut, Goldwater, and Truman Scholarships. The office also advises students and alumni about post-graduate awards that enable them to attend graduate school, conduct independent research, and study or work abroad after graduation.

For more information about Fellowships, contact Mura at karen.mura@gatech.edu.