Caltech Students Win Fulbright and Schilt Scholarships

Two Caltech seniors, Lucas Abounader and Hannah Fisher, have won Fulbright scholarships for the 2024–25 academic year and will be pursuing graduate study in Italy and Germany, respectively. Another Caltech senior, Andrew Pasco, has been awarded a Schilt Studentship for US Students from Trinity College, Cambridge.

Abounader will be studying mathematics at the University of Padova. “During my undergraduate career, I’ve taken way more math classes than a chemistry major has any business taking,” Abounader says. Following his year in Italy, Abounader will be doing a PhD in chemistry and data science, and hopes to investigate the “many exciting and unexplored intersections between mathematics, chemistry, and data science. I’d like to be able to design new tools and models for exploring ‘chemical space’ and unlock new patterns before they are discovered experimentally.”

Abounader’s grandmother, who was Italian, piqued his interest in spending time in Italy. He started an Italian class and club at his high school, and is looking forward to improving his Italian language skills and familiarizing himself “with many unique and vibrant cultures around Italy.”

Fisher will be studying in the research group of Stefan Linke, head of the Exploration and Propulsion group within the Department of Space Technology at the Technical University of Berlin. “During high school,” Fisher remembers, “I visited the National Air and Space Museum and started reading memoirs by astronauts, which got me really excited about pursuing a future career in aerospace engineering.” Fisher will be continuing this interest after her Fulbright year when she begins doctoral study at Stanford University in aeronautics and astronautics.

In Berlin, Fisher will be researching the practicality of melting lunar dust and rocks into bricks that could be used to create a human habitat on the moon. “I am very excited about this project because the lab group I will be working with brings together the disciplines of aerospace engineering, geology, and planetary science in a unique way,” Fisher says. “I am also hoping to immerse myself in German culture and become more proficient in the German language.”

Pasco will be earning an MPhil in industrial systems, manufacture, and management at Cambridge University, after which he will pursue an MS in mechanical engineering at Stanford University. As an undergrad, Pasco spent several summers working at a Vermont-based startup that is designing electrical planes. “During my final summer,” Pasco says, “the company was moving toward the production stage. Witnessing this transition motivated some of my interest in manufacturing.”

Pasco’s program at Trinity College includes weekly industry visits, and Pasco hopes to explore robotics and autonomy in manufacturing. “I am incredibly excited to study abroad,” Pasco says. “I only went to Europe once when I was fairly young, so I am looking forward to experiencing UK culture and traveling around the rest of Europe.”