Four Aerospace Students Receive Society of Satellite Professionals International ScholarshipsThis spring, four aerospace engineering students, Eric Frizzell, Hermann Kaptui Sipowa, Jacob McCullum and Jackson Shannon, received Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) Scholarships for the spring 2017 semester. The SSPI Mid-Atlantic chapter, which serves the areas of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, has a partnership with the university and regularly supports UMD students through SSPI Mid-Atlantic Chapter Scholarships which provide funding to students pursuing research in relevant fields.
Frizzell is the President of the UMD chapter of the National Aerospace Honor Society, Sigma Gamma Tau, where he mentors students, engages in education outreach and provides tours of the aerospace engineering department for prospective students. Frizzell received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Michigan in 2009.
Kaptui Sipowa is a member of both the Hillman Entrepreneurs Program and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. After graduating this spring, he plans to pursue his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.
McCullum aspires to work in the defense industry and plans to pursue obtaining his private pilot’s license in his spare time. This spring, he will be conducting structural health monitoring (SHM) research in the Composites Research Lab (CORE) under Minta Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering Norman Wereley and Dr. Byungseok Yoo. SHM involves using various sensors and signal processing techniques to monitor, locate and grade the severity of damage within a structure. McCullum’s research involves the use of piezoelectric sensors/actuators, and it will begin to explore the application of the guided wave method of SHM applied to an F/A-18C wing section. The general goal of this work is to establish a base for future SHM research applied to actual, complex aircraft structures.
SSPI scholarship recipients will participate in the 2017 SSPI Mid-Atlantic and Iridium Student Competition scheduled April 29, 2017 in Leesburg, Va. This event enables engineering teams from local universities to showcase research in new technologies and approaches that can greatly enhance the space and satellite industries in the not-too-distant future.
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Eric Frizzell is a senior in the Aerospace Engineering Honors program and a research assistant in UMD’s 
Aerospace engineering senior Hermann Kaptui Sipowa is a Clark Foundation Transfer Scholarship recipient who transferred to the University of Maryland in summer 2015. Originally from Cameroon, the scholarship enabled Kaptui Sipowa to pursue his passion for Aerospace Engineering, and in particular, his interest in astrodynamics and spacecraft dynamics and control. As a member of 
Jacob McCullum is a rising junior Aerospace Engineering Honors and University Honors student. He is a member of the student and national chapters of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (SAMPE). In addition, he is an assistant for the Design Build and Fly team and is joining Sigma Gamma Tau this spring.
Calvert County, Maryland native Jackson Shannon has been interested in engineering his entire life and is now a senior in aerospace engineering. He currently works with