Delaney Novak received the award for 2022 Judith Reznik Memorial Scholarship and the Judith Reznik Board of Trustees Scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year in the amount of $ 5,000. The junior specialty of aerospace engineering has beaten more than 1,100 applicants for national honor.
“You have demonstrated outstanding academic performance as well as strong engineering potential,” said Rachel Morford, president of the Society of Women Engineers, which oversees scholarships, in a letter to Novak.
Prestigious scholarships are available the name of Resnik, a brilliant engineer, a NASA astronaut and a member of the Society of Women Engineers, who died in the 1986 crash of the Challenger shuttle. She was the second American and the first Jew of any nationality to fly into space. For several shuttle missions she spent 145 hours in orbit.
“It is a great honor for me to receive a scholarship dedicated to such an amazing engineer, astronaut and woman,” Novak said. “She inspires me and I was pleased to hear that we had a similar experience of learning in college when we were both musicians and in Tau Beta Pi. I hope that one day I will be able to fulfill her legacy. “
Novak is the daughter of Derek and Lori Novak. Derek Novak ’94 earned a bachelor’s degree in ocean engineering from Florida Technology Center and now holds the position of vice president and chief engineer at the U.S. Bureau of Shipping.
Since childhood, Delaney Novak was interested in mathematics and science and studied how everything works. She was later inspired by Catherine Johnson, NASA’s pioneering African-American mathematician, who was featured in the film Hidden figures. As a high school student in Kingwood, Texas, Novak took aerospace classes, including learn how to design, build and launch rockets.
“Thanks to these projects, I have discovered my passion for aerospace technology,” Novak said.
This passion will carry her into a significant future.
“Ultimately, I would like to be part of a team that helps bring astronauts to Mars,” she said. “I especially like the structural aspect of engineering; however, I would also enjoy sitting in mission management! ”
