SWF Awards Ray Williamson Future Fund 2013

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Ray Williamson Future Fund was established in 2011 in recognition of Dr. Ray Williamson’s outstanding service as Executive Director (2007-2011) of SWF.  The Future Fund is an annual award of scholarship or professional development assistance to students or young professionals with demonstrated commitment to and aptitude for the advancement of the Foundation’s values, goals, and objectives. This year's scholarship has been awarded to Ms. Magaly Sandoval Pichardo to support her travel to the International Space University (ISU) Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program (SHSSP) in Adelaide, Australia.

 Ms. Sandoval first came to Secure World Foundation’s (SWF) attention  in  2012 as an    International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Emerging Space Leader at  the  International  Astronautical Conference (IAC).  Emerging Space Leaders, many of  whom  are first  time participants in an international conference, have the opportunity to  work  together  in a yearly IAF-sponsored Cross-Cultural Workshop to improve their  delivery of  oral  paper presentations. She stood out from many of the other scholarship  winners, all  high achieving individuals,because of her poise in presenting to a group,  her strong  desire  to excel, and her willingness to help others. Ms. Sandoval’s CV and  technical papers reveal her strong commitment to satellite engineering, through involvement in the construction and eventual launch of Costa Rica’s first satellite, and to the promotion of STEM education in her country.  

Bio

Ms. Sandoval is in her fourth year of mechatronic engineering studies at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology. She is currently a board member of the Central American Association for Aeronautics and Space and the designated Costa Rican National Point of Contact for the Space Generation Advisory Council. In 2012, she was chosen as an Emerging Space Leader by the International Astronautical Federation. For two years, Ms. Sandoval served as chair of the IEEE Student Branch of her university. She is particularly interested in outreach and STEM programs, and has become a student leader, tutoring students with the Young Talent Club, sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications. In 2013, she was awarded the Third Annual Satellites Scholarship by SGAC and SSPI, which allowed her to attend the Space Generation Congress in Beijing, China.