2026 Award Winners
Dr. Riddhi Bandyopadhyay
University of Delaware, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Reprocessing MMS Solar Wind Data for Reliable Plasma Moment Estimation
Dr. Guoquan (Paul) Huang
University of Delaware, Mechanical Engineering
Computer and Information Sciences
Cooperative Aerial Manipulation and Load Transportation
Dr. Yan Yang
University of Delaware, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Tracing Energy Dissipation Rate from the Sun Through the Solar Wind to the Magnetosphere
Dr. Zhaofeng Zhang
Delaware State University, Department of Computer and Information Sciences
College of Agriculture, Science & Technology
Adaptive Scheduling for Hybrid RF/Optical Space Communications under Uncertainty: A Reinforcement Learning Approach
2025 Award Winners
Dr. Nuwan Dewapriya
University of Delaware, Center for Composite Materials
Molecular Dynamics Modeling of Semi-crystalline
Thermoplastics for Integration into NASA Multiscale Analysis
Tool (NASMAT)
Dr. Kelvin Fu
University of Delaware, Center for Composite Materials
Advanced Fiber-Reinforced Composite Technologies for Lunar and Space Habitat Shielding
Dr. Francesco Pecora
University of Delaware, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Tracking solar wind evolution: acquiring turbulence properties
from PSP and PUNCH white-light images
Dr. Jun Xu
University of Delaware, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dynamic Electrochemo-Mechanics in Solid-state Batteries under Extreme Conditions
2024 Award Winners
Dr. Yin Bao
University of Delaware, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences,
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Improving Machine Vision Systems for Monitoring Ecosystem Phenology
Dr. Stephanie Cone
University of Delaware, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Development of Novel In Situ Analysis Approaches for Rodent Musculoskeletal Models
Dr. Qi Mu
University of Delaware, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Optimizing a growth chamber system for maize environmental and space-based research
Dr. Francesco Pecora
University of Delaware, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Measuring the turbulent energy cascade rate of the Earth’s
magnetosheath with a novel multispacecraft approach
2023 Award Winners
Dr. Swati Singh
University of Delaware, Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Materials Science and Engineering, and Physics and Astronomy
Searching for
chameleon dark energy using levitated optomechanical systems
Dr. Guoquan (Paul) Huang
University of Delaware, Mechanical Engineering
Computer and Information Sciences
Robust Hazard Detection for Safe Planetary Landing
Dr. Erin Sparks
University of Delaware, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Bendy Box: A new tool to study plant biomechanics in space
Dr. Joseph P Feser
University of Delaware, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Using Time Domain Thermoreflectance to Observe Heat Transfer Regimes in
Oscillating Heat Pipes