Merel Vergaaij, a PhD candidate in the James Watt School of Engineering and Space and Exploration Technology (SET) group, has become the second student of our University to be awarded the prestigious Amelia Earhart Fellowship by Zonta International.

The Fellowships, established in 1938 as a living memorial to Zontian and famed pilot Amelia Earhart, encourage women to expand their career options beyond traditional boundaries. The Fellowships focus on eliminating the gender bias that women face in pursuing doctoral degrees in research applied to aerospace engineering or space sciences. Globally, women make up only around 25 percent of the workforce in the aerospace industry. This Fellowship has been established to carry out Zonta International’s mission that women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men.

Merel is conducting her PhD research into the integration of economic modelling and trajectory optimisation for asteroid mining missions, supervised by Prof Colin McInnes and Dr Matteo Ceriotti. Her academic background, research programme and professional goals made her stand out among the many qualified applicants. Merel’s publications can be found in Enlighten.

First published: 30 June 2021

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Merel Vergaaij

Amelia Earhart Fellowship

Zonta International

Merel Vergaaij's publications (Enlighten)