Army intern earns premier scholarship in STEM

By U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public AffairsAugust 13, 2019

usa image
Nikita Kozak, an intern with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, is an Iowa State junior pursuing a mechanical engineering major. Kozak is now a recipient of a scholarship from the Barry Goldwater Scholar... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. -- An Army intern has received the nation's premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.

Nikita Kozak, an intern with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, is an Iowa State junior pursuing a mechanical engineering major. Kozak is now a recipient of a scholarship from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in STEM research.

Kozak is spending this summer working as an ARL High Performance Computing intern. He was one of 5,000 Goldwater Scholarship applicants from 443 institutes. Only 493 students were selected.

Kozak's work at the Army lab is in optimizing gas turbine engines for variable speed operation. His experience working for the Army made him more competitive, he said.

"My time as an Army intern allowed me to develop into a better researcher and problem solver as well as providing me with real world research experience," Kozak said.

The one-year scholarship is available to juniors and two-year scholarships are available to sophomores. It covers the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

"This is quite a significant accomplishment," said Dr. Simon M. Su, DOD Supercomputing Resource Center.

After graduating from Iowa State, Kozak plans to pursue a doctorate in mechanical engineering. He hopes to one day establish his own multidisciplinary research group focused on engine design and computational modeling approaches at a national laboratory.

Kozak, who is serving on his second summer internship at the laboratory, is co-mentored by Army researchers Drs. Anindya Ghoshal, Muthuvel Murugan and Luis Bravo, from ARL's Vehicle Technology Directorate.

"Nikita Kozak is an exceptional student who has demonstrated a superior ability to understand scientific concepts, communicate complex topics with ease, and values working in a military S&T environment," Bravo said. "He has an impressive drive to reach the highest academic levels and has reached important research milestones using High Performance Computing in support of Army's Future Vertical Lift program. I am very glad to see him a recipient of the Goldwater fellowship."

Kozak said plans to keep his options open and continue working with his Army research mentors as his pursues his doctorate in mechanical engineering.

"My Army mentors treat as a collaborator, allowing me to explore and learn with freedom and receive expertise when needed," Kozak said.

___________________________________

The CCDC Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our Nation's wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

Related Links:

U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command

Army Futures Command