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Calandrelli Wins Goldwater Scholarship

Emily Calandrelli, a senior mechanical and aerospace engineering, has received the 2009-2010 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the nation's premier award for math, science and engineering.

A 2008 Truman Scholar, Calandrelli is the second WVU student in the past three years to receive both the Truman and Goldwater scholarships - an unusual accomplishment.

The straight-A Morgantown native has earned many honors, including the NASA Space Grant Scholarship, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship and the PROMISE Scholarship, as well as being named to the WVU President's List numerous times.

Calandrelli also has the distinction of having her undergraduate research published, and was the runner-up in the Star Symposium Poster Presentation for Research in West Virginia in 2007. She interned at the NASA Glenn Research Center and is active in the Sigma Gamma Tau (aerospace) and Tau Beta Pi (engineering) honoraries.

In addition, Calandrelli is also a member of WVU's Microgravity Research Team, which was chosen to fly and conduct an experiment on NASA's C-9, "Weightless Wonder" last summer.

"We are so proud of Emily," said Gene Cilento, dean of the College. "She has an extremely bright future ahead of her, and we look forward to great things from her in the years to come."

Her community service activities range from mentoring kids at the Boys and Girls Club and organizing recycling efforts at her apartment complex to working with St. Jude Hospital's Partners in Hope campaign.

However, Calandrelli's public service efforts extend far beyond the borders of West Virginia and the United States. She is the publicity coordinator and co-fundraising chair for Engineers Without Borders, an organization which challenges members to use their skills to improve the lives of people in developing countries. Engineers Without Borders has spent time building a greenhouse for a family in Mexico, as well as designing a water filtration system for a children's feeding center in Nicaragua.

Calandrelli is on track to graduate with a dual major in mechanical and aerospace engineering in May 2010. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue a graduate degree in aerospace engineering at an Ivy League school. After that, she hopes to obtain a job with NASA as an engineer working on missions to Mars or the moon.

Calandrelli is the daughter of Kimberly and Bradley Calandrelli of Morgantown.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established in 1986. The program honoring Sen. Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

03/31/2009