AIAA Foundation Selected to Administer Iridium NEXT Scholarship Fund
Fund Will Award Scholarships of up to $25,000 to Students Excelling in “STEM” Subjects
TheAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation (AIAA Foundation) has been selected to administer the Iridium NEXT Scholarship Fund, which will award scholarships of up to $25,000, out of a pool initially funded at $250,000, to students who have demonstrated high standards of academic excellence in the “STEM” fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“We’re doing things today that we never thought we would 10 years ago. These students will be at the forefront of technology, developing new things and concepts that will change the world – just as Iridium NEXT will change the way we people and organizations connect, operate and live.”
The scholarship fund aims to help create a workforce that will further the mission of Iridium NEXT, a bold vision for a second-generation satellite constellation to expand Iridium’s capability to meet rapidly expanding demand for truly global mobile communications on land, at sea, and in the sky. For more information on the scholarships, eligibility criteria, and application procedures, please visit www.aiaafoundation.org.
AIAA Executive Director Robert S. Dickman stated: “The Iridium NEXT Mission Team Scholarship program will be one of the most significant educational opportunities in the aerospace industry. The contributions of these leading innovators will help support students, and the program is a great complement to the AIAA Foundation’s commitment to investing in the future of aerospace. Together we will make a lasting impact on the future of our industry.”
Iridium’s Executive Director of Marketing, Don Thoma, explained: “Iridium prides itself on being both innovative and enabling of the innovations of others. The Iridium NEXT team of partners is an unmatched group of technology leaders from around the world. Collectively, we are not only working towards the successful launch of Iridium NEXT, but also as a catalyst for the future of the communication landscape and recognizing that the contributions of these students is an essential part of that.” He added: “We’re doing things today that we never thought we would 10 years ago. These students will be at the forefront of technology, developing new things and concepts that will change the world – just as Iridium NEXT will change the way we people and organizations connect, operate and live.”
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations, and assets anywhere, in real time. Together with its ever-expanding ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications, and it has a major development program underway for its next-generation network – Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services, and partner solutions, please visit www.iridium.com.
The AIAA Foundation seeks to “make it exciting, make it empowering, and make it fun.” That simple, compelling philosophy drives the Foundation’s commitment to math, science, and technology education. The AIAA Foundation offers a wealth of resources to support educators from K-12 through the university level: scholarships, classroom grants, design competitions, and student conferences, improving scientific literacy and advancing the arts and sciences of aerospace. For more information on the AIAA Foundation and its programs for students, teachers, and professionals, please visit www.aiaafoundation.org.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191-4344
Phone: 703.264.7558 Fax: 703.264.7551 www.aiaa.org
