ANN ARBOR, Mich.--- A University of Michigan alumnus who orbited the moon will present a scholarship to a budding rocket scientist as well as give a lecture on Oct. 19.

Aerospace Engineering student Matthew McKeown has been chosen to receive $10,000 from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Apollo 15 astronaut Colonel Al Worden, who graduated from U-M in 1963, will award the money during a ceremony and public lecture at 3 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the McDivitt Conference Room on the first floor of the FXB Building on the University’s North Campus.

Interviews with Colonel Warden are available upon request or at the presentation with advanced arrangements.

“These scholarships are a way for me and my fellow astronauts to give back to a country that provided us with an extraordinary opportunity,” Worden said. “Matthew will be one of the many leaders who will keep the United States at the edge of breakthrough technology and I consider it an honor to be presenting him with this check.”

This award is one of 19 made available each year through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The scholarships are awarded to college students who exhibit exceptional performance, initiative and creativity in the science or engineering field of their major. While scholarship recipients must display intellectual daring, the committee also looks for well-rounded students who are involved in campus and community activities. 

McKeown is a senior majoring in aerospace engineering and holds a 3.9 grade point average. He plans to graduate in spring 2008 with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in aerospace engineering. He is interested in applying his hybrid rocket motor to future launch vehicles. McKeown successfully launched a 12-foot rocket containing three flight computers and a GPS as a personal research project. He co-founded and currently leads a student rocketry club, Michigan Aeronautical Science Association (MASA), which designs, builds, launches and promotes high altitude and performance rocketry. This club offers an opportunity for students to work together, as well as provide workshops to assist peers. McKeown participates in MASA’s outreach program to middle and high schools, where rocket launches are organized to generate awareness of aerospace.

Worden served as Command Module pilot on the 1971 Apollo 15 mission, during which he orbited the moon with crewmates Dave Scott and Jim Irwin. During this mission, Worden photographed 25 percent of the lunar surface with two special cameras mounted outside the ship. On the homeward journey, he took the farthest-out space walk, moving along hand rails on the outside of his spaceship to retrieve film cassettes from the two moon-mapping cameras. He was inducted to the U.S. Astronaut Hall Of Fame in 1997 and has chaired the ASF since 2005.

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 nearly $2.5 million to 226 students nationwide. For more information log on to www.AstronautScholarship.org.

Michigan Engineering:
The University of Michigan College of Engineering is ranked among the top engineering schools in the country. Michigan Engineering boasts one of the largest engineering research budgets of any public university, at more than $130 million annually. Michigan Engineering is home to 11 academic departments and a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. The College plays a leading role in the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute. Within the College, there is a special emphasis on research in three emerging areas: nanotechnology and integrated microsystems; cellular and molecular biotechnology; and information technology. Michigan Engineering is raising $300 million for capital projects and program support in these and other areas to continue fostering breakthrough scholarly advances, an unparalleled scope of student opportunities and contributions that improve the quality of life on an international scale.