Briar Woods Senior Arash Hamidi Top Essayist
in The Aerospace Corporation’s Science Competition
CHANTILLY, Va. (6/5/07)—Arash Hamidi, a senior at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va., earned a $500 U.S. savings bond and will be offered a summer internship for capturing first place in The Aerospace Corporation’s annual Robert H. Herndon Memorial Science Competition.
Hamidi’s essay on “The Effect of Water Temperature on Controlling Nitrol Wire” was selected as best among submissions by six Briar Woods students and a student from Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Va.
Joe Morris, a sophomore at Briar Woods, received a $250 bond for placing second. His essay was titled “The Effect of Rotary Wing Design on Vertical Lift.”
Grace Chen, a senior at Briar Woods, earned honorable mention for her essay on “The Effect of Light on the Retainment of Vitamin C in Light- and Dark-Colored Fruit.”
The competition, held for eight consecutive years at The Aerospace Corporation’s regional office in Chantilly, is designed to stimulate interest among minority students in science, engineering, and technology, and increase diversity across the aerospace industry. This year’s event was held on May 31.
The keynote speaker at the awards program was Joseph Parker, vice president of Systems and Proposal Engineering Company, Marshall, Va.
The competition is named for an inspirational Aerospace scientist and mentor who died in 1976.
A similar event has been held for 29 years at The Aerospace Corporation’s headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. The 30-year-anniversary event is set for June 7.
Hamidi will qualify for the summer position if he completes the job screening process required of those who work at The Aerospace Corporation’s secure facilities.
The Aerospace Corporation is an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical analyses and assessments for Defense Department space programs and selected civil and commercial space programs in the national interest.
Contact Peggy Tatum at 703-633-5308, peggy.m.tatum@aero.org, or Dave Jonta at 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org.
