Brittany Boudreaux, a NC State University senior completing a double major in civil engineering and applied mathematics, has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). The scholarship was presented to Boudreaux by Apollo 16 astronaut and moonwalker Charlie Duke during a free public ceremony  held Wednesday, September 23, at the Park Shops on the NC State campus.

Boudreaux spent the summer of 2006 in New Orleans working as an engineering aide asssisting project managers overseeing reconstruction on  non-invasive techniques for evaluating non-porous materials. She co-authored an article which has been accepted for publication in Inverse Problems in Science and Engineering and plans to pursue a PhD with hopes of preventing future disasters such as the levee failure in New Orleans.

Boudreaux is one of 17 students nationwide to receive this scholarship. The Astronaut Scholarships are awarded annually to students who show exceptional performance in the fields of science, engineering or mathematics. Recipients must exhibit motivation, imagination and intellectual daring, as well as exceptional performance, both in and outside the classroom.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization established by the Mercury Astronauts in 1984 with the goal of aiding the United States in retaining its world leadership in science and technology. The ASF has awarded more than $2.8 million in scholarships to date, including $188,000 to NC State students.