Smead Aerospace has three named assistantships听to support incoming PhD students. Established in 2023, these help attract top aerospace PhD candidates to CU Boulder by offering a two-semester graduate research assistantship covering salary, tuition and benefits. These named assistanceships are established to honor the following persons:

  • Prof. George H. Born Graduate Assistantship
  • Dr. Lisa Hardaway Graduate Assistantship
  • Aerospace Graduate Assistantship Honoring Fallen or Wounded Military Alumni

Each of these assistantships are open to incoming doctoral students from all aerospace research areas, both to U.S. and international students. The faculty nominate their top doctoral applicants and a department committee selects which candidate to offer these department assistantships to.

These assistantships are bestowed on our most promising PhD candidates and are not possible without your donations. Please consider supporting the funds below:

George Born (1939-2016) joined the CU Boulder aerospace faculty in 1985 and established Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR), which he built into an internationally recognized organization, known for contributions to spacecraft guidance, control, and navigation; and remote sensing of the oceans and atmosphere with radar and lidar technology.

Born created new courses at CU Boulder, advised dozens of graduate and PhD students, and embodied the role of a mentor, providing countless hours encouraging, nurturing, and advocating for student success.

Prior to CU Boulder, he worked at Johnson Space Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, serving on various missions, including Mariner 9, the Viking Mars Program, and the Seasat Project.

Lisa Hardaway (1966-2017) (AeroEngr PhD'00) was an industry trailblazer and active CU Boulder aerospace alumna.

She spent 20-years at Ball Aerospace, playing critical roles on projects that advanced our knowledge of the universe 鈥� including the first ever close up photos of Pluto, taken by NASA鈥檚 New Horizons space probe. NASA later renamed the New Horizons spectrometer in her memory.

Hardaway was a strong advocate for CU Boulder aerospace 鈥� serving as chair of the department鈥檚 External Advisory Board. She was also generous with her time advocating for women in aerospace, encouraging them and creating opportunities to pursue their passions.

Each year, this assistantship will honor a different member of the CU Aerospace alumni who served in the U.S. military and died or was severely wounded while serving.

Students receiving this assistantship do not need to have U.S. veteran status.