Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Award
The ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é’s pool of qualified undergraduate students makes selection for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Award highly competitive.
The —also known as “Astronaut Scholarships”—are awarded annually to undergraduate students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors who are nominated in their sophomore or junior year by their college or university. In addition to high academic achievement, competitive applicants demonstrate passion and talent for scientific work along with a strong commitment to pursue research or technological advancements in their field following graduation.
The award includes scholarship funding for each honoree as well as opportunities to expand their professional network to include astronauts, alumni, and industry leaders.
ASF was created in 1984 by, among others, the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts and Betty Grissom, widow of the seventh astronaut, Virgil (Gus) Grissom. The foundation’s mission is to ensure the United States remains a global leader in science and technology.
The ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é’s deep pool of potential applicants and the limit of two nominations per institution makes selection for this award highly competitive. Learn more about the Astronaut Scholarship and other fellowship, scholarship, and award opportunities available to ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é students.
Recent Astronaut Scholar
Congratulations to the most recent Astronaut Scholar from the ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é!
Lilli Tamm ’25
Areas of study: Biochemistry (BS) and philosophy (BA)
Tamm is one of 71 scholars chosen as a 2024 scholar from 48 US universities. She has been an undergraduate research assistant since 2022 in the and was a for 2022–23. Among her many activities at ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é, she also was a teaching assistant in biology, a , a workshop leader in philosophy, a resident advisor, and the president of . She will spend the summer of 2024 as an industry intern at Merck, working in its biochemistry and biophysics group in Boston. Tamm was born in ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é but raised in Paris, France. She now lives in Pittsford, a suburb of ÂÒÂ×Ç¿¼é. She plans to pursue a doctorate to conduct research in molecular pharmacology and teach at the university level.
Past Astronaut Scholars
2023-24 Scholar
Margaret (Maggie) Hoare ’24
Area of study: Biochemistry (BS)
Minor: Philosophy
2022-23 Scholar
Loren Cardani ’23
Area of study: Biochemistry (BS)
Minors: Chemistry and Latin American studies
2021-22 Scholar
Madison Lang ’22
Area of study: Biomedical engineering (BS)
Minors: Psychology and mechanical engineering
2020–21 Scholar
Caroline Cardinale ’21
Area of study: Mechanical engineering (BS)
2019–20 Scholar
Daniel Krajovic ’20
Area of study: Chemical engineering (BS)
2018–19 Scholar
Audrey Goldfarb ’19
Area of study: Biology (BA)
Minor: Journalism
2016–17 and 2017–18 Scholar
Mollie Eva A. Hansen ’18
Area of study: Biomedical engineering (BS)
Scholar 2014–15 and 2015–16
William E. Green ’16
Area of study: Mechanical engineering (BS)
2012–13 and 2013–14 Scholar
Vincent E. Yu ’14
Areas of study: Physics and astronomy (BS) and math (BA)
Minor:Philosophy of science
2010–11 and 2011–12 Scholar
Halley J. Orshan’12
Areas of study: Computer science (BS), math (BA), and computer science (MS)
Minor: Linguistics