Congratulations to Harrison Blake for being awarded an Astronaut Scholarship. Harrison is a double major in Physics and Astronomy and Astrophysics. He has been working with Professor Chris Hirata on extreme mass ratio inspirals around supermassive black holes as a test of General Relativity. His career goals are to continue studying gravitational physics and sources of astrophysical gravitational waves.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is proud to welcome the 2023 Astronaut Scholar Class. This year ASF has awarded 68 scholarships to students from 46 different universities across the nation. Astronaut Scholarships are awarded to students in their junior and senior year of college studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics with the intent to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their final degree. Astronaut Scholars are among the best and brightest minds in STEM who show initiative, creativity, and excellence in their chosen field.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation was created in 1984 by: the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts (Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton); Betty Grissom (widow of the seventh astronaut, Virgil “Gus” Grissom); William Douglas, M.D. (The Project Mercury flight surgeon); and Henri Landwirth (Orlando businessman and friend). Together they represented a wealth of collective influence which was particularly suited to encouraging university students pursuing scientific excellence. Their mission was to ensure the United States would be the global leader in technology for decades to come.

Since that time, astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs have also embraced this noble mission. ASF can partners with industry leaders, universities and individual donors to reward the best and brightest university students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with substantial scholarships.

The prestigious Astronaut Scholarship is known nationwide for being among the largest merit-based monetary scholarships awarded to undergraduate STEM juniors and seniors. ASF has a life-long relationship with each Astronaut Scholar and provides them with mentors, professional and personal development and networking with astronauts, C-suite level executives, and industry leaders to help advance their careers.