Undergraduate Learning

Our Students Win Awards for Faculty-Mentored Research

Aerospace Research Recognized

Honors student Neale Van Stralen ’18 received the 2017 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Scholarship from the National Space Club and Foundation at the 60th Annual Goddard Memorial Dinner.

The prestigious award supports Van Stralen’s research into the design of aerospace structures necessary for interplanetary transportation of humans.

“Neale’s thesis is part of a larger project led by a PhD student that focuses on re-entry vehicle design to improve overall safety and convenience,” says Van Stralen’s advisor, Craig Merrett, assistant professor of mechanical & aeronautical engineering. “Neale is looking at the re-entry trajectories and aerodynamic loads experienced by capsules, such as the Apollo and the current Orion capsule, and the space shuttle. The research requires Neale to complete a number of MATLAB simulations about trajectories and computational fluid dynamic simulations for the aerodynamic loads.”

2017-18 Goldwater Scholars

The Goldwater Scholarship is the most prestigious award in the United States given to undergraduates studying the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

Two Clarkson Honors students were named among this year’s recipients:

Louis DeRidder ’19

Chemical and biomolecular engineering major, with a minor in biology Louis DeRidder interned at the Trudeau Institute in the immunology research department the summer after his first year, assisting with a collaborative project between the Trudeau Institute’s William Reiley and Clarkson’s Professor He Dong. Louis continued this project the following semester, working with Dong on utilizing peptide nanoparticles for gene and drug delivery. He has since completed two research-based co-ops: one with Johnson & Johnson’s R&D team and the other with the Center for Nanomedicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Timothy Dunn ’19

Electrical engineering and computer science double major, with a mathematics minor Timothy Dunn has conducted research at Clarkson since his first year under the mentorship of Professors Sean and Natasha Banerjee. His research has included improving automated software problem report triaging by accelerating report comparisons using a graphics processing unit. He was also a summer intern at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

27 Goldwater Scholars in 15 years

Great Ideas Get Noticed

Student Teams Win at New York State Business Plan Competition

Four Clarkson teams won awards at the 2017 New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) held in Albany, New York.

The annual competition invites teams to pitch their business plans for innovations in a variety of growing sectors in the state’s advanced economy, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and clean energy.

Students working with Clarkson’s Reh Center for Entrepreneurship and Shipley Center for Innovation pitched their business plans to a panel of national venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers and seasoned entrepreneurs.

The StairSafe team took home the Undergraduate Excellence Award in the Products category, and the Elevate/Therapeutic Leg Extender team received the Esprit de Corps award in Advanced Technology. The SMART Housing team won in the NYSERDA Clean Technology category. The Solar Water LLC team received the People’s Choice Award in the NYSERDA Clean Technology category.

With more than $500,000 in prizes annually, the New York Business Plan Competition is one of the largest collegiate business plan competitions in the world.

15+ Years of SPEED Design. Build. Test. Compete.

250+ Clubs and Activities International, Cultural, Arts and Music, Academic/ Pre-Professional, Technology/Robotics, Sports, Entertainment, Political, Religious, Community Service

SPEED • Clean Snowmobile

Creativity, problem-solving and risk-taking are key aspects of the Clarkson SPEED program.

Launched in 2002, Clarkson’s award-winning SPEED program provides students from all majors with the opportunity to join a project-based team and participate in regional, state and national competitions. The projects range from robotics, aeronautics and eco-friendly vehicle design to bridge building and sustainability in developing communities around the world.

The skill sets cultivated during these exciting projects — from teamwork and problem-solving to financial management and communication — are highly sought after by global corporations.

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TEAMS 300+ students from all majors participate annually

Clarkson’s Equestrian Club gives members a chance to participate in a club focused around the equestrian world, in both a competitive and noncompetitive setting. The Clarkson team works with trainers and horses at a nearby facility and competes against other colleges as part of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.