Gabe Cutter (L) and Grant Wilkins (R)
Congratulations to Gabe Cutter and Grant Wilkins on being selected as part of the 2022 Astronaut Scholar Class!
Astronaut Scholarships are awarded to a select number of college juniors and seniors who are studying STEM topics and intend to “pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their final degree,” according to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
The foundation accepts applications only from universities that offer the country’s highest-rated programs in science, technology, engineering and math, while also providing graduate-level research opportunities to their undergraduate students. Typically, each partner university may nominate only two students and only one can be selected.
Cutter and Wilkins were among 68 undergraduate students from 45 universities and colleges across the United States who received the award in 2022.
The two students have a great deal in common. Both are Honors students (Wilkins is also a National Scholar) and both are double majors – Cutter in computer engineering and economics and Wilkins in computer engineering and mathematics. They each earned highly competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, though in different years – Cutter in 2021 and Wilkins in 2022. They have each already had their research published in peer-reviewed journals and share a major, though their research takes them in different directions.
