The scholarship is for the Space Studies Program at the Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland
The International Space University (ISU) last week announced its first Kalpana Chawla Scholarship to Sonal Baberwal, a 21-year-old student from Maharashtra’s Amravati.
The scholarship, which is for the Space Studies Program at the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) in Ireland, is given to students with backgrounds in science, medicine, and other space-related areas and it has been established to honor the Indian American astronaut Dr Kalpana Chawla who died in the Columbia space shuttle accident in 2003, the university said in a media release.
The award is part of an annual campaign that identifies and assists three exceptional Indian post-graduate students who share Chawla’s selfless and passionate pursuit of science and excellence.
“This is a historic moment to achieve an international impact with a few select, but very talented Indian post-graduate students. India will continue to play on the international stage, as it moves forward leading the development of space technologies and activities,” Michael Potter, one of the scholarship founders, said in the statement.
Sonal Baberwal has studied at the Mount Carmel High School and Shri RLT College of Science. She completed her engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from the Sipna College of Engineering and Technology in Amravati under Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University.
Baberwal has a broad interest in robotics, Pluto, space debris and environmental aspects along with the fields of Space and Art, in which context she got in contact with NASA astronaut Nicole Stott. She has also made several presentations in India on space related topics, and emerged as a champion of several chess tournaments.
According to ISU, the scholarship is a commitment to creating the building blocks that are necessary for India to maintain its leadership in the global space community and marketplace.
Founded in 1987 in Massachusetts and now headquartered in Strasbourg, France, ISU is the world’s premier international space education institution. It has already graduated more than 4200 students from over 100 countries. The University’s alumni, that also include hundreds of faculty and lecturers, comprise an extremely effective network of space professionals and leaders that actively facilitates individual career growth, professional activities and international space cooperation.