Connecticut Space Grant Awards Funding to Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Researcher

Chemical engineering student Evan Piotrowski has been awarded the NASA CT Space Grant in recognition of his academic excellence and undergraduate research

When Evan Piotrowski first stood inside the Millstone Nuclear Power Station and saw the reactor vessel that had powered his home for years, he gained more than a behind-the-scenes look at one of the nation’s largest clean energy sources. He found a career path. 

Now a rising senior in the UConn Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department, Piotrowski has been awarded the NASA CT Space Grant Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes his academic excellence, undergraduate research, and commitment to developing engineering solutions for some of society’s most pressing energy and sustainability challenges.  

A member of the UConn Honors Program, Piotrowski is pursuing minors in both materials science and mathematics while conducting research in assistant professor Burcu Beykal’s laboratory. His long-term goal is to work at the intersection of nuclear energy and process systems engineering, developing advanced reactor technologies that could one day power missions beyond Earth.  

“The work I am currently doing and the work I desire in the future have strong applications in the advancement of space technology,” says Piotrowski. “My goal is to become an engineer who advances both the nuclear power and space technology frontiers.”