Congratulations to Megan Powers, a U-M Aerospace Engineering PhD candidate in Prof. Venkat Raman’s Advanced Propulsion Concepts Lab (APCL), for being recognized with a Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (DoD NDSEG). This prestigious fellowship was created in 1989 by direction of congress as an approach to increasing the number of…
Congratulations to Megan Powers, a U-M Aerospace Engineering PhD candidate in Prof. Venkat Raman’s Advanced Propulsion Concepts Lab (APCL), for being recognized with a Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (DoD NDSEG).
This prestigious fellowship was created in 1989 by direction of congress as an approach to increasing the number of United States citizens receiving doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines of military importance. It is also highly competitive, with only 4,700 fellows taking part despite having received more than 70,000 applications since its inception.
“The NDSEG fellowship will provide me with the opportunity to conduct groundbreaking research to support the defense of the United States through the development of hypersonic and rocket-based systems,” said Powers. “It will also give me tools to grow professionally through opportunities to network, pursue internships, and help me to understand where I can make the biggest impact in hypersonic and rocket propulsion systems for the DoD.”
Powers first became interested in this line of research when she was considering the goals of her PhD pursuit. A conversation with Prof. Raman helped her connect her interests in propulsion with computational sciences, leading her to join the Advanced Propulsion Concepts Lab.
“Contributing to multiple projects in the Advanced Propulsion Concepts Lab [has] allowed me to transfer key insights across efforts, deepening my ability to think critically and innovatively,” said Powers. “I would not be the same researcher without the opportunities I have gained working with Dr. Raman and the Advanced Propulsion Concepts Lab.”