Kumardip Basak received the Robert Head Scholarship which honors the engineering pioneer from McDonnell/Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing.

Basak is a graduate student in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center mentored by Professor Anubhav Datta. His research focuses on developing vision-based guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems for autonomous drones, especially in challenging environments where GPS and LIDAR data are unreliable. He employs sensor fusion methods—particularly Kalman filtering—for improved state estimation and drone autonomy in dynamic conditions. His expertise lies in estimating attitude using quaternions and Euler angles, as well as fusing IMU data with visual tracking for accurate localization, and he has hands-on experience with PX4 flight controllers, NVIDIA Jetson platforms, and Intel RealSense cameras, working to create reliable, perception-driven control strategies.

His goal is to enhance UAV performance in demanding scenarios such as autonomous ship-deck landings and operations in visually degraded, cluttered environments. Basak earned his undergraduate degree in 2023 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Ron Berlin received the John J. Schneider Scholarship which honors the memory of the preeminent VTOL aircraft designer and historian.

Berlin is an undergraduate senior pursuing an Aerospace Engineering B.S. degree with Honors, and is in his first year of the B.S./M.S. program in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center. Berlin is a researcher in Professor James Baeder’s research group, where his research focuses on the investigation of the physics, aerodynamics, and performance of aerial screw rotors.

He is also the aerodynamics team lead for UMD’s Autonomous Micro Air Vehicle Team, competing in the Vertical Flight Society’s Design-Build-Vertical Flight Competition.

Grace Johnson received the Dr. Richard M. Carlson Scholarship, awarded in honor of the former Hiller and Lockheed engineer who became chief of the Army's Advanced Systems Research and Analysis Office at Ames Research Center.

Johnson is a first-year graduate student pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering after earning her B.S. in aerospace engineering with honors at Maryland in May 2025. On campus, she works in the Composites Research Laboratory under the direction of Professor Norman Wereley, where her research explores enhancing the energy absorption capabilities of additively manufactured tubular honeycomb structures.

Her work has applications for safety and crashworthiness, specifically in helicopter seating to alleviate thoracic and lumbar injuries for occupants during impact.

She says it is an honor to be receiving this award and support from the Vertical Flight Foundation.

Michael Morcos received the Hal Andrews Scholarship, which remembers a preeminent Navy aviation engineer, advisor and historian.

Morcos is currently pursuing his Ph.D., and he is a graduate research assistant in Professor Umberto Saetti's Extended Reality Flight Simulation and Control Laboratory, part of the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center. His research focuses on enhancing pilot perception through secondary sensory cues, such as haptic and auditory feedback, to improve situational awareness in complex flight environments.

Morcos earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from Cairo University in 2021. During his time there, he was an active member of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Development Center (UDC), where he gained hands-on experience in UAV design and took part in local design competitions. His academic and research experience reflects a strong commitment to advancing aerospace technology, particularly in the fields of flight simulation and human-machine interaction.

“I sincerely appreciate being honored with the VFF award,” said Morcos. “For someone in rotorcraft research, this distinction holds great personal and professional significance."

Nathan O’Brien received the M.A. “Tony” McVeigh Scholarship which honors the memory of the Boeing advanced rotorcraft designer and mentor.

O’Brien is finishing the 4th year of his Ph.D. under Professor Anubhav Datta. Before coming to Maryland, he worked for two years at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works as a structural test engineer after completing his B.S. in aerospace engineering at Penn State.

His research focuses on high-speed wind tunnel testing of a tiltrotor test rig investigating novel technologies to mitigate tiltrotor whirl flutter. After graduation O’Brien hopes to continue working in the rotorcraft field as a government researcher or in private industry

"It is a great honor to be recognized by the distinguished VFS scholarship committee for all of my hard work,” said O’Brian.

Visesh Uppoor received the Dr. Alfred Gessow Scholarship, honoring a pioneer in the helicopter field at NACA/NASA and founder of UMD’s rotorcraft center.

Uppoor is a first-year Ph.D. student in UMD’s Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center under mentor Professor Inderjit Chopra where his research focuses on enabling future high-speed rotorcraft with a particular interest to better understand high-advance ratio aeroelastic stability.

To accomplish this, his research involves both experimentation using smart structure actuators and comprehensive analysis. He received his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland in 2024.

Vivek Uppoor received the Dr. Dewey H. Hodges Scholarship, awarded to a top applicant in the aeromechanics field and honoring Georgia Institute of Technology professor, decorated engineer, and one of the foremost aerospace researchers of his generation.

Uppoor is a Ph.D. student in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center under the guidance of Professor Inderjit Chopra. He earned both his B.S. (2022) and M.S. (2025) degrees in aerospace engineering from UMD.

Uppoor research focuses on lift and thrust compounded rotorcraft at high advance ratios, aiming to enhance efficiency and expand the rotorcraft high-speed flight envelope. His work integrates wind tunnel testing and comprehensive aeromechanics modeling to evaluate performance, loads, and vibrations.

Outside of academic research, Uppoor maintains a deep interest in aircraft design, with a particular focus on vertical flight. Upon completing his Ph.D., he aims to pursue a career in the rotorcraft industry, contributing to the early-stage design and development of advanced helicopter projects.