Aimar Negrete, a graduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering (AerE) at Iowa State University, has been named to the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
He will receive three-year annual stipends of $37,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance to be used for tuition and fees as well as access to opportunities for professional development through the NSF.
Negrete’s research which will be supported is mainly focused on novel methods for computing optimal control solutions to spacecraft trajectory optimization problems. He has investigated the use of linear orbital mechanics models for computing analytical optimal trajectories. Currently he is researching the possibility of unifying analytical mechanics with optimal control theory to provide a more specialized frameworks for specific classes of optimal control problems. His major professor is Dr. Ossama Abdelkhalik.
He was also a recipient of a Teaching Excellence Award from the Iowa State University Graduate College in 2022 for his work with undergraduates in their curriculum studies.
The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. It is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, dating to 1952.
NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are viewed as crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.