AIAA Foundation Announces Results of Its 2016-2017 Undergraduate Life Sciences Team Design Competition Written 26 July 2017

AIAA Foundation Announces Results of Its Undergraduate Life Sciences Team Design Competition

September 6, 2017 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation is pleased to announce the results of its 2016–2017 Undergraduate Life Sciences Team Design Competition.

The competition asked teams to design an exploration, transportation and logistical support base on the Martian moon Phobos, capable of being used as a jumping-off point for human exploration missions to the surface of Mars.

The winners are:

• First Prize: University of Houston, Houston, Texas. Team members: Timothy Bishop, Victor Kitmanyen, Thomas Lagarde, and Zachary Taylor. Dr. Olga Bannova, faculty advisor. The team received a prize of $500.


• Second Prize: University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. Team members: Emmie Bolt, Greg Castaldi, Sami Connolly, Duncan Hacker, Cam Ruffle-Deignan, Moritz Thali, Matthew Walton, and Jacob Wainer. Darren Hitt, faculty advisor. The team received a prize of $250.


• Third Prize: Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. Team members: Sanjeev Adhikari, Rajan Bhandari, Raj Kumar Gurung, and Arjun Magar. Sudip Bhattrai, faculty advisor. The team received a prize of $125.

“Successful human exploration of Mars faces many challenges, among them providing logistical support to a team of explorers on the Martian surface,” said AIAA Executive Director Sandra Magnus. “One potential solution is the establishment of a support base on Mars’ moon Phobos. The designs we received for such a base from the competing teams were both captivating and imaginative, each an example of the creativity and forward-looking vision that the aerospace community is known for. The AIAA Foundation thanks all of the students who took part in this event and congratulates the winners.”

For more information about the AIAA Foundation Undergraduate Life Sciences Team Design Competition, please contact Rachel Dowdy at racheld@aiaa.org or 703.264.7577.

About the AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation seeks to “make it exciting, make it empowering, and make it fun.” That simple, compelling philosophy drives the Foundation’s commitment to math, science, and technology education. The AIAA Foundation offers a wealth of resources to support educators from K–12 through university: scholarships, classroom grants, design competitions, and student conferences, improving scientific literacy and advancing the arts and sciences of aerospace. For more information on the AIAA Foundation and its programs for students, teachers, and professionals, please visit www.aiaafoundation.org.