An AAE alumna was chosen by Women in Aerospace as one of its award winners for 2019.
Seetha Raghavan earned the Aerospace Educator Award by WIA, a professional organization dedicated to expanding women’s opportunities for leadership, education and visibility in the aerospace community.
Women in Aerospace will honor five award recipients at the 34th Annual WIA Awards Dinner and Ceremony Oct. 17 at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va.
Raghavan, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida, was selected for “her leadership in advancing the technical, professional and global impact of aerospace students and mentorship of young women in aerospace,” according to a press release. More than 60 women were nominated for awards, the release said.
“I am honored to receive this recognition and to join the ranks of women aerospace educators and leaders who have inspired me over the years,” Raghavan said. “I am thankful to UCF for providing me the opportunity and resources to help students excel and for creating a supportive environment for women in engineering.”
Aerospace Educator
Raghavan has been teaching at UCF since receiving her doctorate from Purdue in 2008. She’s working with students on research ideas to develop next generation aerospace structures and materials and guiding them to develop and perform experiments in her lab and at national facilities. In 10 years at UCF, nine students from her research lab have been awarded Fulbright or National Science Foundation fellowships.
She is an associate fellow for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and has won numerous teaching awards, including while as a graduate student at Purdue.
“At Purdue, I was lucky to have some of the best professors and mentors, many of whom had a significant influence in shaping my academic career and continue to always be there with great advice,” she said.
WIA has more than 2,000 members representing 250 companies and 80 corporate, non-profit and academic partners.