Mistele Earns Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

Meet NC State MAE’s 2021 Goldwater Scholar

Andrew Mistele, an undergraduate student in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has received the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, placing him among the nation’s most promising young scientists and engineers.

Mistele is currently a Junior in Aerospace Engineering with future plans of attending graduate school to pursue a M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. He would like to conduct research in applied aerodynamics and flight vehicle design in an industry research and development setting. Currently he conducts research under the mentorship of Dr. Arun Vishnu Suresh Babu and Dr. Ashok Gopalarathnam. His paper for the undergraduate AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) competition, Discrete Vortex Method for Modeling Effects of External Flow Disturbances on Airfoils, was selected as the top paper for Region 2 of the International Student Conference. As a result of his accomplishments, he was also able to participate in SciTech in January of this year, where he presented: Inviscid Model for Unsteady Multi-Airfoil Configurations with Leading Edge Vortex Shedding  during technical sessions.

When asked about this notable accomplishment, Mistele said “I am incredibly honored to have been awarded the Goldwater Scholarship. It is exciting to be recognized for my research work, and the scholarship will help me pursue my goals for graduate school and conducting R&D in an industry setting. I am extremely grateful for my advisor, Dr. Ashok Gopalarathnam, and mentor, Dr. Arun Vishnu Suresh Babu, who have guided, supported, and encouraged me over the past two years. I believe this award is also a testament to the great opportunities that are available through the MAE department for undergraduate students interested in doing research, and I am grateful to MAE as well for funding our research work that was the basis of the award.”

The highly competitive scholarship, awarded to 410 college students across the United States, provides up to $7,500 per academic year to cover tuition, fees, books, food and housing. Named for the late Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, the program seeks to strengthen the nation’s leadership in science and technology. The program allows U.S. colleges and universities to submit up to four nominees for the scholarship each year. From an estimated pool of 5,000 applicants this year, the total number of nominees was 1256 students representing 438 academic institutions.