DeLaHunt Receives Honorable Mention in ASEE Diversity Essay Content

Aerospace Engineering graduate student Sylvie DeLaHunt received an honorable mention in The American Society for Engineering Education's (ASEE) Year of Action on Diversity Essay Contest.

DeLaHunt's essay, “Overcoming obstacles and creating positive change," focused on the obstacles still facing women in the engineering field. She discusses several of the hurdles women face in engineering, while also highlighting some of the positive changes she has been actively involved with at the University of Maryland to improve opportunities for both women and underrepresented groups.

She currently serves as a founding board member of the university's new Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics (WIAA) organization whose mission is to "empower women through professional networking and development, and to foster discussion between students and professionals about overcoming obstacles." WIAA also wants to keep students engaged and motivated during their engineering education and careers and know that they are not facing challenges alone.

DeLaHunt is currently working towards completing her M.S. degree at Maryland with a specialization in flight dynamics and control. In 2014, she received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship which is supporting her research work in the area of pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs).

Published October 29, 2015