Jillian Yuricich becomes first Buckeye to earn prestigious Astronaut Scholarship

Jillian Yuricich, an Ohio State junior majoring in aerospace engineering, has been awarded an Astronaut Scholarship for the 2014-15 academic year. Yuricich, a native of Hilliard, Ohio, is the first Ohio State student to be awarded a scholarship by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which was created by the Mercury 7 astronauts.

The Foundation annually presents $10,000 scholarships to outstanding juniors or seniors who are majoring in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program. Candidates for the scholarship must be nominated by their professors and must exhibit leadership, imagination and exceptional performance in their field of study. Aerospace Engineering Professor Mei Zhuang submitted the nomination for her scholarship. 

Last fall, Yuricich completed an internship at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. While there she worked in the Rotorcraft Aeromechanics Branch doing research in the world's largest wind tunnel identifying turbulence levels at the wind tunnel's inlet due to upwind blockages. Supporting her scholarship nomination was Dr. Alan J. Wadcock, an aerospace engineer at NASA Ames Research Center, who said, "Ms. Yuricich worked directly with senior researchers and demonstrated initiative, responsibility, and a problem solving attitude that inspired the researchers she worked with."

This summer, Yuricich will be an intern at the Naval Air Warfare Center in the Advanced Aircraft Design Branch, Fighters/Bombers division located at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland. Upon learning about the scholarship award, she commented, "I have wanted to be an astronaut since age five, when I read my first book about the solar system. I am beyond honored to represent The Ohio State University as a recipient of the scholarship."