Embry-Riddle Graduating Senior Earns Prestigious Fulbright Award

Zoey Hart, who just earned her bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, has been selected for a Fulbright Study/Research Award to attend the University of Southampton in England, where she will pursue a one-year master’s program in space systems engineering.

“When I found out I had gotten the Fulbright, it felt like a dream come true, like all my hard work at Embry-Riddle these past four years was building toward this moment,” she said.

Embry-Riddle Aerospace Engineering graduate Zoey Hart earned a Fulbright Study/Research Award. (Photo: Zoey Hart)

Jennifer Schaeffer, director for nationally competitive awards and scholar development, called the award “one of the most competitive – if not the most competitive – among national awards.” Hart is only the second Embry-Riddle student to be awarded the Fulbright.

“Zoey distinguished herself through the alignment of her academic excellence, a compelling research proposal and a demonstrated commitment to fostering mutual understanding across cultures,” Schaeffer said.

Interested in space since she was a child growing up in Idaho and building rockets by eighth grade, Hart said studying abroad is her dream.

Hart’s father is an electrical engineer and helped her further her interest in science and math. Her mother, on the other hand, helped her hone her writing skills.

“Between both my parents, I had the support I needed to be successful in high school, preparing me for my success at Embry-Riddle,” Hart said, adding that when she researched colleges with well-recognized aerospace programs, “Embry-Riddle was always at the top of the list.”

While earning her bachelor’s degree, Hart earned a Fulbright Canada award that allowed her to do research at Polytechnique Montreal during the summer of her sophomore year. Hart also participated in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Pennsylvania State University and served as a flight operations intern at Empire Airlines.

As part of Embry-Riddle’s Pure Water Project team, Hart helped bring critical solar-powered water purifiers to four communities in the Dominican Republic, said Dr. Marc Compere, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and project lead. Hart often led the electrical team during installation, said Compere, adding that Hart has come to know as much, or more, about the purifier as he does. Compere — who described Hart as passionate about helping people, organizational leadership, space science and education — said, “Her Fulbright is an exceptional award chosen only for exceptional academics and technical leaders.”

Hart credited Compere with teaching her “about being an engineer and solving problems,” as well as about collaborating on and leading engineering projects.

“He has helped me apply what I learned in my classes to real-world problems,” she said. “I am so grateful for his support and guidance over the past four years.”

Hart also conducted research with the Space Trajectories and Applications Research Group under  Dr. David Canales, assistant professor of Aerospace Engineering, whose research focuses on astrodynamics in the region between Earth and the moon. Canales said she has played “a key role” in several projects, including the creation of a paper on the complexity of space missions to this region.

“After spending the last year doing research in this area, I want to focus on astrodynamics in my future research and career,” Hart said. “At Southampton, I want to structure my research project around solving astrodynamics problems.”

Seth Robbins contributed to this article.