Four-time Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Crippen is scheduled to present Georgia Tech senior Jenna Campbell with a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) during a public presentation and ceremony, Tuesday, September 16 at 3:00 p.m. in the Ferst Center for the Arts, Georgia Tech campus.

The award ceremony will coincide with a presentation by Crippen on his out-of-this-world travels and how hard work made it possible for him to be the nation's first Space Shuttle pilot! The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Astronaut Scholarship is the largest monetary award given in the United States to science and engineering undergraduate students based solely on merit. Nineteen of these prestigious awards are dispersed each year through the ASF to outstanding college students majoring in a science or engineering field. These well-rounded students exhibit exceptional performance, initiative, and creativity in their field, as well as intellectual daring and a genuine desire to positively change the world around them, both in and outside the classroom.

"I am pleased to be presenting Jenna with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Scholarship," said Crippen, who also serves as the ASF vice chairman. "Jenna is a bright, up-and-coming forerunner in the field of physics, and I feel honored to pass this award on to her so that she will be able to continue the United States' great tradition of excellence in the science and engineering fields."

Campbell is a senior at Georgia Tech majoring in physics, focusing her research on the development of silicon nano-porous structures. During her summer research she strived to develop active silicon microfilters and gas sensors through use of porous silicon, which can be used in the medical and law enforcement fields. Her research has led her to author a journal publication and co-author an invention disclosure. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, Campbell plans to attend graduate school for biophysics or chemical physics, earn her Ph.D., and follow her love of teaching by working in academia. Campbell is a member of the Society of Physics Students, a Peer Leader volunteer for the freshman physics students, and the vice president of the Georgia Tech Equestrian Team.

"We are proud to see one of our students recognized with such a wonderful honor," said Gary Schuster, Interim President of Georgia Tech. "Jenna Campbell exemplifies the attributes that make Georgia Tech students successful graduates. She has taken advantage of undergraduate research opportunities and made strides towards achieving her career goals while still at Tech."

Twenty-seven years ago this year, Crippen piloted the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle program and orbiter Columbia. He went on to command Challenger on three other shuttle missions including the first mission to capture, repair and release a satellite. In the early 1990s, he served as director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center and then served as president of Thiokol Aerospace Group in Utah. Crippen was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2006 and was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1984 by the six surviving members of America's original Mercury astronauts. Its goal is to aid the United States in retaining its world leadership in science and technology by providing scholarships for college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major. ASF funds 19 $10,000 scholarships annually and has awarded over $2.6 million in scholarships nationwide. For more information log on to www.AstronautScholarship.org or call 321.455.7012.