Clark School Student Named Top Researcher

Aerospace engineering senior Ryan Lebois has been named the University of Maryland’s Undergraduate Student Researcher of the Year by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies for his project, “Study of the Feasibility of Drag Flaps for Satellite Constellation Station Keeping,” which was his culminating work in the aerospace engineering honors program.

Ryan’s research mentor, Liam Healy, nominated him for this annual recognition and he was selected from a competitive pool of student researchers. The award will be presented to Ryan at the Undergraduate Research Day, April 25th, at 1:15 in the special events room (6th floor) of McKeldin Library. The award includes a $500 stipend.

In his nomination, Prof. Healy described the complicated work and the multiple tasks that were part of Ryan’s research, stating, “Any one of these tasks would have made a good student research project, but taking into account several different and potentially conflicting requirements and goals shows unusual ability, organization, dedication, and independence. This is truly unusual for an undergraduate and even many professionals with many years of experience don't show this level of skill.”

Following graduation, Ryan will be working for Applied Defense Solutions in Fulton, Md.

Published April 20, 2009