Celebrating the many aerospace engineering students and faculty awarded scholarship and top accolades during Spring 2025.
Kelly Griendling is Igniting a Spark for Aerospace Education
Lecturer Kelly Griendling, AE 2006, M.S. AE 2008, Ph.D. AE 2011 has been recognized by Georgia Tech students and colleagues for exemplary teaching this academic year. She has received the Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and the 2024 Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS) Award for Large Classes in the College of Engineering. Griendling’s teaching philosophy follows a similar notion made popular by Benjamin Franklin - “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
The Active Classroom
Georgia Tech acknowledged the Triple Jacket’s dedication through the Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, which honors outstanding faculty contributions to Tech’s educational mission, where students are the top priority.
The purpose of this CIOS award is to recognize instructors with exceptional response rates and scores on CIOS. Griendling’s students used the course instructor opinion survey to share their thoughts on her AE 1601 course.
She makes her classroom come alive, and her enthusiasm for aerospace is infectious. She sets the tone for first-year students in her AE 1600 classes and gives them the tools they need to thrive in what lies ahead in the AE curriculum. She makes the class an excellent springboard for first-years.
Sparking the passion for complex subject matter isn’t an easy task. It takes preparation, trial and error, and flexibility. She wants students to walk away eager to learn more about aerospace. She reviews the curriculum and identifies how to make the classroom an inviting and positive environment. She decides what she wants the human experience to be for the students. She also decides what she wants the students to take away. Her main goal is to make learning enjoyable and not a chore.
“You go talk to a class of kindergartners, and they are so excited to learn. Somewhere along the way, learning becomes a chore, and students don't want to go to school. They don't want to do their homework, and they’re just worried about what grade they get. They forgot that learning was fun. So, I try to figure out how to make learning fun again,” Griendling shared.
Taking it to the Streets
She brings that same energy into the K-12 outreach with the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, the STEP Summer Program for high-school seniors, and her faculty leadership in the Yang Aero Maker Space. Students see her as a source for academic help and understanding. She mentors students daily, which is just a part of her routine.
In the STEP Summer Program, Tech students mentor high-school students on robotics and become subject matter experts through Griendling’s mandatory preparation before the camp begins. By the time the AE students mentor the high-school students, they are confident robotics experts, building their acumen and confidence. She works closely with the Tech students throughout the camp and allows them to fly on their own.
Steady Excellence
Her teaching talents have been recognized with various Georgia Tech awards, such as the School of Aerospace Engineering Most Valuable Professor Award 2023, the WIE Faculty Teaching Award 2022, and the CIOS Honor Roll in 2021, 2023, and 2024.
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Professor Griendling in the Indoor Flight Lab with AE 1601 students conducting an experiment.
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Professor Griendling in the Flight Simulation Lab
Associate Chair for Undergraduate Programs Joseph Oefelein and Kush Bandi at the 2025 AE Senior Banquet
Aerospace Engineering Outstanding Senior Scholar Award
Kush Bandi was bestowed the Aerospace Engineering Outstanding Senior Scholar Award for the highest cumulative GPA in the AE School. Funded through an endowment established by former school chair Donnel W. Dutton, AE 1940, it is worth $1,000.
“I'm incredibly grateful for the award; it is an honor. It represents long hours, late nights, and the whole process of growing and learning, but the real award has been the journey. Being surrounded by amazing peers and faculty professors who challenged me, fueled and inspired me.” Bandi shared.
This summer, Bandi will head to Relativity Space in Long Beach, California, for an internship. He will return to Georgia Tech in the fall to continue the BS/MS program.
Associate Chair for Undergraduate Programs Joseph Oefelein and Anisha Singhatwadia at the 2025 AE Senior Banquet
Donnell W. Dutton Outstanding Senior in Aerospace Engineering Award
Anisha Singhatwadia was selected for the Donnell W. Dutton Outstanding Senior in Aerospace Engineering Award. The $1,000 award is given annually to an AE student who has demonstrated excellence both in and outside of the classroom.
“Winning this award is a huge honor. It means a lot to have my hard work recognized by a school and community I deeply respect. I’m grateful and motivated to keep pushing forward in aerospace.”
She will intern again at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to work in their Institute of Propulsion Technology. She will also be continuing research dissemination from previous work at the DLR through the publication of an American Society of Mechanical Engineers TurboExpo Conference paper on the optimization of blade geometry in a transonic compressor stage.
AE Student Named Runner-Up in Prestigious VFS Lichten Competition
Duncan Waanders was named the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) Lichten Competition runner-up. This prestigious international award is for engineers who have never presented at a national conference. Waanders, the Southern Regional Winner, competed against contestants from across the globe in industry, government, and academia.
His research presentation titled “A Real-Time Reduced-Order Model for the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Including Roughness Sublayer” will be presented at the VFS 81st Annual Forum in May at the Virginia Beach Conference Center. His research in Lattice Boltzmann Methods is guided by Prof. Juergen Rauleder, and his efforts in developing this research were co-advised by Prof. Marilyn Smith.
The Lichten Award honors the memory of Robert L. Lichten, an outstanding rotary-wing engineer and the Vertical Flight Society’s 22nd President, serving 1965–1966. Lichten was a skilled and dedicated innovator, who spent much of his career championing early tiltwing and tiltrotor concepts. He was considered the “Pioneer of Tiltrotor Technology” for his work at Bell, where he became the director of advanced technology.
Duncan Waanders
Georgia Tech Leads Nation with Nine VFF Scholarship Winners in Vertical Lift
Nine Georgia Tech aerospace engineering students specializing in vertical lift have been awarded Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) scholarships. These annual scholarships recognize exceptional students pursuing or interested in vertical lift research. Out of the 33 recipients who received a total of $126,000 in scholarships, Georgia Tech students secured nine awards –– more than any other university. This year’s competition was fiercer than ever after an increase in overall scholarships and applicants. Additionally, Pranav Sridhar, a Ph.D. candidate, was recognized as the top-scoring VFF applicant. These students will be honored at the VFS 81st Annual Forum. The scholarships, which range from $3,250 (B.S.) to $6,000 (M.S. or Ph.D.), are typically named in honor of pioneers in the field of rotorcraft.
The Georgia Tech scholarship recipients are:
(Bottom Row, left to right)
- Zoelle Wong, AE Ph.D. candidate, was awarded the Franklin D. Harris Scholarship (Advisor: Prof. Juergen Rauleder)
- Isabelle Sanz, AE master’s student, was awarded the Dr. Robin Gray Scholarship (Advisor: Prof. Cristina Riso)
- Irelyn Meckley, BSAE 2025 and incoming AE master’s student, was awarded the Barry J. Baskett Scholarship
- Heather Beers, AE master’s student, was awarded the Charles C. Crawford Scholarship (Advisor: Prof. Karen Feigh)
(Top Row, left to right)
- Howon Lee, AE Ph.D. candidate, was awarded the Dr. E. Roberts (Bob) Wood Scholarship (Advisor: Prof. Juergen Rauleder)
- Pranav Sridhar, AE Ph.D. candidate, was awarded the Bell Textron Scholarship, and recognized as the top applicant (Advisor: Prof. Marilyn Smith)
- Gray Simmons, AE master’s student, was awarded the Dr. Richard L. Bennett Scholarship (Advisor: Prof. Cristina Riso)
- Caden Perry, AE undergraduate student, was awarded the Walter J. Hodgson Scholarship
- Cory Chianello, AE master’s student, was awarded the Joseph P. Cribbins Scholarship (Advisor: Prof. Juergen Rauleder)
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AE Graduate Student Zach Grieser Awarded Prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Zach Grieser, a Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech’s Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, has been named a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), one of the nation’s most competitive and prestigious awards for graduate students in STEM.
Originally from Sunbury, Ohio, Grieser earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2023. His passion for exploration and discovery led him to pursue aerospace engineering, a field he describes as offering “limitless possibilities to discover and knowledge to be gained.”
At Tech, Grieser is conducting research focused on space mission design and planning, particularly in developing in-space servicing architectures and trajectories. His work aims to enhance the effectiveness of science missions by optimizing logistics systems in space—an effort that could reduce mission costs, increase efficiency, and expand scientific discovery.
Zach Grieser
“In-space logistics systems have the potential to impact humans in multiple ways,” Grieser explained. “By supporting science missions, my research will allow for more science to be conducted in space, opening doors to discovery and innovation that will impact life on Earth.”
The NSF GRFP provides Grieser with three years of funding, including tuition support and a monthly stipend.
“Being a GRFP fellow will allow me the freedom to pursue research interests that I am passionate about,” he said. “It affirms that my research interests have potential and supports my long-term goal of a career in research.”
Grieser expressed gratitude to his support networks at Tech. “I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Koki Ho, for his support throughout the process. Also, thank you to Kayla Garoust, Logan Feld, and Jennifer Nolan; they previously went through the fellowship application process and gave me great advice.”
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Natasha Schatzman
Natasha Schatzmann Awarded the Inaugural VFS Alex M. Stoll Award
Triple Jacket Natasha Schatzman (AE 2011, M.S. AE 2014, Ph.D. AE 2018) of NASA, is the inaugural winner of the Alex M. Stoll Award.
In 2025, the VFS, in collaboration with the Stoll family, announced a new award in memory of Alex M. Stoll. This award honors a professional in the field of vertical flight who, like Stoll, demonstrates exceptional commitment to advancing their organization’s mission, makes extraordinary contributions to the well-being and happiness of their colleagues, and elevates their organization’s culture and morale.
At Tech, her vertical lift research led her to successfully defend her dissertation, Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustic Sources of a Coaxial Rotor, which identifies several unique aerodynamic phenomena that occur in coaxial rotor configurations. Schatzman exemplifies the impact that Georgia Tech’s Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence (VLRCOE) alumni have on the vertical lift and rotorcraft industry.
In 2023, she received the VFS François-Xavier Bagnoud Award, awarded to individuals who are 35 years old or younger and have outstanding career-to-date contributions to vertical flight technology.
Ishani Peddi Named Matthew Isakowitz Scholar, Advancing Space Policy at CSIS
Ishani Peddi, (BSE 2025) an incoming master’s student at Georgia Tech, has been awarded the prestigious Matthew Isakowitz Space Scholarship. This summer, she will be interning at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where she will work on the Aerospace Security Project focusing on space policy-related issues. This internship will provide her with an invaluable opportunity to apply her academic knowledge to real-world policy challenges.
She recently earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in aerospace engineering, to enhance her interdisciplinary approach to education and her commitment to impactful research in the space sector. She will be returning in the fall as a graduate teaching assistant and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs, science, and technology.
Currently, she is a resilience research assistant, focusing on transportation resilience issues. Previously, she was a research assistant in the Space Policy Research Group, where she works on issues related to cislunar governance and regime theory. Her previous research includes space sustainability and debris removal, and she has also worked as a research assistant at the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Laboratory. Ishani's research explores international governance, coordination, and sustainability as they relate to space, impacting modern society's reliance on this domain.
Ishani's academic journey is marked by her passion for engineering and her experience in advocacy and politics. She chose Georgia Tech's Aerospace Engineering program for its unique opportunity to study interdisciplinary subjects that have real-world impacts. "The opportunity for interdisciplinary study that has a real-world impact set GT AE apart from other programs," Ishani said. Her background in advocacy and politics has informed her understanding of how strong, informed policy and regulations can establish a foundation for innovation, particularly in the space sector.
"I would like to thank Dr. Mariel Borowitz, Dr. Lincoln Hines, and Dr. Lawrence Rubin for their support as I have found my niche in the space industry through space policy research," she said.
Ishani Peddi
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