The Heinlein Society celebrated Robert A. Heinlein’s 117th birthday today by announcing the winners of its 2024 Scholarship competition. The $4,000 scholarships are awarded to undergraduate students of accredited 4-year colleges and universities.

ROBERT A. HEINLEIN SCHOLARSHIP

Awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences.

• Gabriel Black – Gabriel is our Robert A. Heinlein Scholarship recipient. He is majoring in Biochemistry at Western Washington University with a minor in Astronomy and will start his junior year in the fall. He also works in the undergraduate chemistry research lab at the school and plans to pursue a PhD in Astrobiology. He is a member of the National Honors Society and served as treasurer of his local chapter while tutoring elementary and middle school students.

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.

• Elizabeth Bradshaw – Elizabeth is this year’s Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship winner. In the fall she will begin her junior year at Purdue University, majoring in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. She earned a Girl Scout Gold Award by authoring the book “Your Place in Space: A Career Guide for Girls” based on interviews she did with women working in Aerospace. She donated the books to local schools and libraries. She attended Space Camp in middle school and hopes to make her way back to Mission Control after completing her degree.

VIRGINIA HEINLEIN SCHOLARSHIP

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

• Maya Krolik – Maya wins this year’s Virginia “Ginny” Heinlein Scholarship. In the upcoming academic year she will be a sophomore at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making. In middle school she competed on her school’s Science Olympiad Team and in high school served as team captain and programming lead for the First Tech Challenge competition. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and is currently performing research on creating new chemical molecules using AI.

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.

• Luxanna Sands – Luxanna is the winner of the Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship for this year. She begins her junior year at William Jewell College in the fall, majoring in Physics. She plans to also study Aerospace Engineering as part of her college’s dual program and to pursue her master’s after completing her bachelor’s degree. She performs community service through food drives at her local church. She has stated that “Physics isn’t just what I study, it’s my life”.

The Heinlein Society made a major change to their scholarship program this year – incoming freshmen are no longer eligible. As a result, the number of applications received dropped from 744 last year to 235 this year. There were 40 international applicants, including 4 who had multiple citizenship. There were applicants from 28 different countries, from Angola to Vietnam.

There were eleven finalists this year. The other seven are:

• Pearl Bless Afegenui
• Seohyun Kim
• Pinyu Liao
• Bella Ott
• Hiba Ouadii
• Elizabeth Rusnak
• Jasmine Wongphatarakul