daedalus 88 scholarship winner is inspired to make science

Daedalus 88 Scholarship Winner Is Inspired to Make Science Come to Life By Michele McDonald A can-do attitude and love for rocketry unite AIAA President John Langford and Sam Zorek, an engineering senior at Rice University and the first recipient of the $10,000 Daedalus 88 scholarship. Langford created the AIAA Foundation Daeda- lus 88 Undergraduate Scholarship to promote and support student entrepreneurship in aerospace. “Education is not just classroom learning,” Langford said. “It is experience-based, project-based learning. I think that’s how I learn best, and it’s how many people learn best.” The scholarship commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Daedalus Project, a pivotal project for Langford and 39 other MIT students. The team set a new distance record for human-powered flight by flying 72 miles between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini. The record remains undefeated. After the flight, Langford founded Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, a pioneer in unmanned aircraft and autono- mous flight, at a time when the industry saw few aerospace startups. For nearly 30 years, Aurora has designed, built and flown over 30 aircraft. In November 2017, Aurora was acquired by Boeing and continues to be a leader in autono- mous technology today. This fall, Langford invited Zorek for a behind-the-scenes tour of Aurora. He also gave Zorek and guests a rare, first- hand account of the influential Daedalus project and how its entrepreneurial know-how continues at Aurora. Zorek’s eighth grade science teacher, Christopher Goff, helped create an interest in STEM. “As a student, I was more inclined to build a slingshot out of rubber bands and a binder than pay attention to what was on the board. In Mr. Goff’s science class, he made the equations come to life.” It was the fun egg-drop capsule test that drew Zorek to aerospace engineering. As part of his class project, he had studied how NASA landed the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity and using Styrofoam, bubble wrap, and a lot of hot glue, his capsule kept the egg safe after dropping from three flights of stairs. Zorek was hooked. “I became more interested in school because I could see it wasn’t a means to the end but a means to do better for the world.” The tour at Aurora had a similar impact. “As I toured Aurora with Dr. Langford, I saw how his innovative aircraft designs today originated from the Daedalus student project 30 years ago,” said Zorek, who’s also president of Rice Eclipse, the university’s student rocket team. “It inspires me to dream big and consider how I can apply the leadership lessons I learned from Dr. Langford to further grow Rice Eclipse.” Rockets have been part of the hands-on learning experience for both Langford and Zorek, who’s working on dual degrees in mechanical engineering and policy studies, and also is president of Rice University’s rocket team, Rice Eclipse. Langford received his first rocket as a fifth grader and is an active participant in Team America Rocketry Challenge. Applications for 2019 AIAA Foundation scholarships are being accepted until 31 January 2019. For information on establishing a scholarship or to make a donation, please visit aiaafoundation.org.

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Page 1: Daedalus 88 Scholarship Winner Is Inspired to Make Science

86 | DECEMBER 2018 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org

AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS

Daedalus 88 Scholarship Winner Is Inspired to Make Science Come to Life

By Michele McDonald

A can-do attitude and love for rocketry unite AIAA President John Langford and Sam Zorek, an engineering senior at Rice University and the first recipient of the $10,000 Daedalus 88 scholarship. Langford created the AIAA Foundation Daeda-lus 88 Undergraduate Scholarship to promote and support student entrepreneurship in aerospace.

“Education is not just classroom learning,” Langford said. “It is experience-based, project-based learning. I think that’s how I learn best, and it’s how many people learn best.”

The scholarship commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Daedalus Project, a pivotal project for Langford and 39 other MIT students. The team set a new distance record for human-powered flight by flying 72 miles between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini. The record remains undefeated.

After the flight, Langford founded Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, a pioneer in unmanned aircraft and autono-mous flight, at a time when the industry saw few aerospace startups. For nearly 30 years, Aurora has designed, built and flown over 30 aircraft. In November 2017, Aurora was

acquired by Boeing and continues to be a leader in autono-mous technology today.

This fall, Langford invited Zorek for a behind-the-scenes tour of Aurora. He also gave Zorek and guests a rare, first-hand account of the influential Daedalus project and how its entrepreneurial know-how continues at Aurora.

Zorek’s eighth grade science teacher, Christopher Goff, helped create an interest in STEM. “As a student, I was more inclined to build a slingshot out of rubber bands and a binder than pay attention to what was on the board. In Mr. Goff’s science class, he made the equations come to life.”

It was the fun egg-drop capsule test that drew Zorek to aerospace engineering. As part of his class project, he had studied how NASA landed the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity and using Styrofoam, bubble wrap, and a lot of hot glue, his capsule kept the egg safe after dropping from three flights of stairs. Zorek was hooked. “I became more interested in school because I could see it wasn’t a means to the end but a means to do better for the world.”

The tour at Aurora had a similar impact. “As I toured Aurora with Dr. Langford, I saw how his innovative aircraft designs today originated from the Daedalus student project 30 years ago,” said Zorek, who’s also president of Rice Eclipse, the university’s student rocket team. “It inspires me to dream big and consider how I can apply the leadership lessons I learned from Dr. Langford to further grow Rice Eclipse.”

Rockets have been part of the hands-on learning experience for both Langford and Zorek, who’s working on dual degrees in mechanical engineering and policy studies, and also is president of Rice University’s rocket team, Rice Eclipse. Langford received his first rocket as a fifth grader and is an active participant in Team America Rocketry Challenge.

Applications for 2019 AIAA Foundation scholarships are being accepted until 31 January 2019. For information on establishing a scholarship or to make a donation, please visit aiaafoundation.org.