AIAA Announces Recipients of 2023 Roger W. Kahn Scholarship Written 14 March 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Roger W. Kahn Scholarship. The four $10,000 scholarships have been awarded to the following high school seniors:

• Lydia Ames of Nolensville, Tennessee
  Attends: Nolensville High School
• Samannita Mukherjee of Floral Park, New York
  Attends: Floral Park Memorial High School
• Anna Phan of Cypress, Texas
  Attends: Cypress Woods High School
• Valeria Santoyo of South Gate, California
  Attends: Saint Joseph High School

Read their full profiles on the AIAA website.

The 2023 Kahn Scholarship recipients will be recognized during the AIAA Awards Gala, Thursday, 18 May, at The John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Tickets for the AIAA Awards Gala are available now. Each of the recipients also will be matched with an AIAA professional member as a mentor who will help guide them on their career path as part of the popular AIAA Mentor Match program.

The Roger W. Kahn Scholarship was created to honor the memory of Roger Kahn (1907–1962) and his passion for aviation and entertainment. Kahn spent the latter part of his career at Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation as a test pilot and then managed the technical service and sales division. In the 1940s, Kahn was actively involved with the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (one of the predecessor organizations of AIAA) and later served as its vice president. Kahn also was an accomplished jazz musician as early as the 1920s, composing songs often featured in stage productions and early films, as well as leading numerous orchestras. He became a recording artist for some of the first record labels including Victor, Brunswick, and Columbia.

“AIAA is pleased to honor the memory of Roger W. Kahn with a scholarship supporting the next generation of the aerospace profession. Kahn’s legacy of aviation enthusiasm and accomplishment began nearly 100 years ago and will remain relevant in the next 100 years of aviation and aerospace innovation,” commented AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher. “We are thrilled to award the Kahn Scholarship again this year. We can’t wait to see how these four incredible students shape the future of aerospace!”

AIAA introduced its High School Student Membership in 2021 as part of its commitment to becoming a vital lifelong link for student to access reliable resources and growth opportunities. AIAA high school members also have access to the Mentor Match program, the Daily Launch newsletter, and webinars and on-demand content, as well as the exclusive Engage community platform to communicate and network with peers around the globe.

Basil Hassan, chair of the AIAA Foundation, added, “AIAA is honored by Roger W. Kahn’s gift to AIAA as a powerful investment in students. The AIAA Foundation is pleased to use part of this gift to help identify, mentor, and promote promising young aerospace talent. It’s especially exciting to support high school seniors at this early stage of their journey from classroom to career.”

Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, RebeccaG@AIAA.org, 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit  www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.