NC State senior to receive Astronaut Scholarship

A North Carolina State University engineering student will receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) for the 2012-13 school year.

Andrew Santos, a senior majoring in chemical engineering, is one of 22 students nationwide to receive the scholarship this year. He is NC State’s 22nd recipient of the scholarship, which was first awarded in 1986.

The $10,000 award is the nation’s largest merit-based monetary award given to undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, according to ASF. Santos will be officially presented with the award on campus sometime this fall.

Santos has been engaged in undergraduate research at NC State for two and a half years, including work on how gases interact in carbon nanotubes. Away from the lab, he teaches chemistry, math and physics at the University Tutorial Center.

Santos is also president of the NC State chapter of Engineers Without Borders. He previously led a chapter project to improve water quality at a community center in a small Bolivian town. The center’s primary water source contains E. coli and often runs dry during the eight-month dry season.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation was established in 1984 by the Mercury Seven astronauts to help the United States continue leading the world in science and technology. Scholarships are awarded annually to students who show exceptional performance in the fields of science, engineering or mathematics. Recipients must exhibit motivation, imagination and exceptional performance in their academic major.