The Heinlein Society celebrated Robert A. Heinlein’s 114th birthday today by announcing the three winners of its 2021 Scholarship competition. The three $3,000 scholarships are awarded to undergraduate students of accredited 4-year colleges and universities.

Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship

Awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences, and add “Science Fiction as literature” as an eligible field of study.

• LeAnn Rhodes

LeAnn is the Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship winner. LeAnn will be attending Virginia Tech as a junior in the fall, majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Having previously pursued a path in Political Science, she discovered that Engineering suited her better and changed her career path, though she plans to apply her knowledge and experience in the law to her new vocation.

Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship

Awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences, and add “Science Fiction as literature” as an eligible field of study.

• Alexandra Ouimet

This year’s winner of the Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship, Alexandra is majoring in Marine Science at the University of Maine, entering her junior year in the fall. She took a couple of years off between high school and college to do volunteer work with Americorps NCCC and Utah Conservation Corps, among others. During one of her volunteer stints in Hawaii she became a certified scuba diver.

Virginia Heinlein Scholarship

Dedicated to a female candidate majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences.

• Mandisa Keswa

Mandisa wins this year’s Virginia Heinlein Scholarship – the “Ginny.” Mandisa is entering her senior year at Pomona College, majoring in Neuroscience. Her family is originally from South Africa, and her life experience has helped her to develop a keen interest in health policy and providing better access to underserved communities. She has participated in genetic engineering and hippocampal research projects and plans to continue doing research after obtaining her degree.

The Heinlein Society commented that they were surprised, despite the pandemic, to receive even more applications than the previous year — setting a new record of 383, including a record 23 international applicants. The international applicants are from eleven countries: Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia and Nigeria.

In addition to the three winners, the other top 10 finalists are:

• Alexis Kaiser
• Audrey Lacey
• Carver Freeburg
• Casey Barbier
• Jane Hancock
• Josephine Maier
• Nadège Oger

The Heinlein Society has opened its tenth annual scholarship essay contest for the 2021-2022 academic year. Three $3,000 scholarships will be awarded to undergraduate students of accredited 4-year colleges and universities —

• Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship — Dedicated to a female candidate majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences.
• The Yoji Kondo Scholarship and Jerry Pournelle Scholarship — May be awarded to a candidate of any gender; in addition, “Science Fiction as literature” is an eligible field of study.

Applicants will need to submit a 500-1,000 word essay on one of several available topics:

a. How Robert Heinlein influenced your career choice. What Heinlein writings would you use to illustrate how he sparked your interest in science and technology?
b. Discuss the advantages to the human race of a permanent settlement on the Moon or Mars.
c. Biologist J.B.S. Haldane once wrote “I have no doubt that in reality the future will be vastly more surprising than anything I can imagine. Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.” Find, discuss, and comment on one episode in your STEM field in the past 50 years that you find surprising.
d. Robert Heinlein said “The golden age of science has yet to begin.” Evaluate this statement compared to your technical field. Do you expect to see this golden age in your lifetime?
e. Discuss how Heinlein has influenced modern science fiction and fantasy.
f. What are the structural, procedural, and operational limitations of computer simulations of which a practitioner or user must be acutely aware? Discuss with respect to your career field.
g. How might advances in your chosen field of study affect how people live 50 years from now? What changes, good or bad, might society see?

The deadline to apply is April 1. Full guidelines and the application form are on the Society’s website.  Winners will be announced on July 7, 2020.

Previous scholarship winners who will still be attending college in the 2021-2022 academic year as undergraduates are eligible to apply again, but they must choose a different essay topic than previously.

The Heinlein Society celebrated Robert A. Heinlein’s 113th birthday today by announcing the three winners of its 2020 Scholarship competition.

Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship

• Charles Hanson

Charles was also our first non-U.S. winner in 2016 (from Canada), and was a finalist again in 2017. Completion of his undergraduate degree was delayed by circumstances beyond his control, so he will be attending the University of Alberta this year as a senior. His major is Mathematics, but he has a studied a range of sciences including biology, meteorology and mathematical physics. When not studying, he teaches piano and physics and volunteers at a local observatory. His goal is to pursue entry into medical school or a graduate degree in mathematical medicine.

Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship

• Tulla Bee Picardi

In the fall she will begin her freshman year at Stanford University. Her major is Neuroscience and Human Biology, on a Pre-Med track. She is active in the National Math Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Rho Kappa History Honor Society, and the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society (among others) and is a lifetime member of Mensa. She scored 35 on the ACT and 1550 on the SAT. She spent four summers participating in Duke University’s Talent Identification program, taking three-week intensive college courses in subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology and Medical Ethics. Her long term goal is to become a neuro-oncologist.

Virginia Heinlein Scholarship

• Samantha Townsend

She will be attending UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina as a freshman in the Fall, majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics with a minor in Software Development. While attending high school, she began taking courses at Wake Technical Community College, and was able to complete their entire Calculus sequence. After obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree, she plans to pursue both a Master’s and PhD, and ultimately to start her own business in Data Analytics. Samantha’s Instagram account (@stem357), on which she posts mathematical memes, has over 60,000 followers.

The Heinlein Society received 365 scholarship applications, a record. About 80% of those who applied identify as female. There were 20 international applicants, more than in any previous year, from around the globe: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Ghana, Haiti, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Morocco and India.

In addition to the winners, the other top 10 finalists are:

• Catherine Anderson
• Kasandra Aulenbach
• Emily Black
• Rachel Hetzler
• Samuel Koblensky
• Hannah Reilly
• Erin Yuan

The Heinlein Society has opened its eighth annual scholarship essay contest for the 2020-2021 academic year.

 Three $2,500 scholarships will be awarded to undergraduate students of accredited 4-year colleges and universities —

• Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship — Dedicated to a female candidate majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences.
• The Yoji Kondo Scholarship and Jerry Pournelle Scholarship — May be awarded to a candidate of any gender; in addition, “Science Fiction as literature” is an eligible field of study.

Applicants will need to submit a 500-1,000 word essay on one of several available topics:

a. How Robert Heinlein influenced your career choice. What Heinlein writings would you use to illustrate how he sparked your interest in science and technology?
b. Discuss the ‘Golden Age of SF’ and Robert Heinlein’s role in it.
c. Most of the Heinlein estate and literary legacy is devoted to commercial space activities (the mission of the Heinlein Prize Trust). Given that focus, consider Heinlein’s “The Man Who Sold the Moon”, and other works. Will our future expansion into space be government initiated, or private/commercial? Which is better? Which will ultimately be the way forward?
d. Robert Heinlein said “The golden age of science has yet to begin.” Evaluate this statement compared to your technical field.
e. Discuss the advantages to the human race of a permanent settlement on the Moon or Mars.
f. The expansion of social media has led to widespread placement of devices by which your movement and private conversations can be monitored. Social media has also accelerated the clustering of like-minded interests into largely non-interacting ‘tribes’—the so-called ‘metadata’ gathering. Can you find and comment on the Heinlein stories that predicted these phenomena?
g. How might advances in your chosen field of study affect how people live 50 years from now? What changes, good or bad, might society see?

Full guidelines and the application form are on the Society’s website.  Winners will be announced on July 7, 2020.

Previous scholarship winners who will still be attending college in the 2020-2021 academic year as undergraduates are eligible to apply again, but they must choose a different essay topic than previously.

The Heinlein Society celebrated Robert A. Heinlein’s 112th birthday today by announcing the three winners of its 2019 Scholarship competition.

Virginia Heinlein Scholarship

• Rosemary Lach

Rosemary wins this year’s Virginia Heinlein Scholarship – the “Ginny”. She will be attending Rice University as a freshman in the Fall, majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. One of her favorite hobbies is model rocketry, and she intends to pursue a career working on control systems. She has already worked as an intern for Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. She has volunteered as a mentor for the Miraleste Intermediate School Robotics Team and as an education volunteer for the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship

• Charles Boyle

Charles is this year’s winner of the Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship. Charles is a senior, attending the University of Texas at Austin. He is pursuing a triple-major in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, and Astronomy. After he completes his Bachelor’s, he plans to pursue a graduate degree. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and the Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Honor Society, for both of which he has performed volunteer work. His main pastime is designing and fabricating in UT’s Makerspace.

Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship

• Faith Rovenolt

Faith is the Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship winner. She is a senior at Vanderbilt University, majoring in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. Her career goal is to perform research in epidemiology. She also hopes “…to spread my passion for biology through teaching, outreach, or science writing.” Her mother is an army veteran and her father is serving in the Navy. She has volunteered her time with Vanderbilt Students for the Armed Services as well as Vanderbilt Students Volunteer for Science.

The Heinlein Society received 233 scholarship applications. In addition to the winners, the other top 10 finalists are:

• Will Butler
• Madeline English
• Samuel Heim
• Esther Lee
• Trinity Manuelito
• Shannon Mowbray
• Clare Williams

The Heinlein Society celebrated Robert A. Heinlein’s 111th birthday today by announcing the three winners of its 2018 Scholarship competition.

This year the “Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship” is joined by the “Jerry Pournelle Memorial Scholarship” and “Yoji Kondo Memorial Scholarship,” named in honor of two sff figures and friends of Heinlein who died within the past 12 months.

Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship

Carson Butler

She is attending the University of Virgina entering her junior year. She is majoring in Cognitive Science. While in high school she was selected to attend the Frances Hesselbein Student Leadership Program at the U.S. Air Force Academy. In addition to a potential career in neuroscience, she is interested in aerospace and would “… love to work for NASA one day.” Butler was also the winner of the first “Ginny” in 2016.

Jerry Pournelle Memorial Scholarship

Reese Caldwell

This fall he will be attending Harvard University as a freshman, majoring in Chemical and Physical Biology. For his research into external control activity in synthetic cells with light, he was named one of the top 40 high school scientists in the country by the Regeneron Science Talent Search and has presented at two international conferences. After completing his Bachelor’s, he plans to continue on to obtain his PhD in bioengineering, and eventually to work for a university.

Yoji Kondo Scholarship

Emma Sebesta

She begins her university experience as a freshman at Indiana University Bloomington. She is working toward dual majors in Biochemistry and Spanish, with a minor in Psychology. She will be part of IU’s ASURE program (Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience). She was Salutatorian of her high school graduating class and received a gold medal on the National Spanish Exam. After obtaining her Bachelor’s, she plans to continue on to attend medical school and obtain her residency. Her dream is to become a fellow at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City.

The Heinlein Society received 301 scholarship applications, almost double last year’s number. In addition to the winners, the other top 10 finalists are:

• Kayla Keith
• Neetij Krishnan
• Kyra Moosmueller
• Natalie Murren
• Spencer Pote
• Stephen Rosene
• Edith Steffenhagen

[Thanks to Keith G. Kato for the story. The website text was written by Mike Sheffield, Emeritus President of THS and Chairman of the Scholarship Committee.]