PhD student Cassie-Kay McQuinn was awarded the Texas A&M University Doctoral Research Excellence Assistantship (DREA). The DREA provides fully funded doctoral assistantships and aims to attract top-tier doctoral students. The assistantship is designed to enhance Texas A&M’s research capacity and productivity thus fortifying the university’s reputation as a leading research institution and facilitate groundbreaking contributions to various fields of study. The DREA is award by the university to only four students annually with selection criteria based on demonstrated academic excellence, relevant experiences beyond the classroom, and research potential. Cassie-Kay’s selection reflects not only her academic excellence but also her commitment to advancing knowledge and contributing meaningfully to her field.
McQuinn graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M, and has been an active member of VSCL since 2021. Throughout her tenure as a student she has been involved in several leadership and engineering organizations including serving as the president of the Texas A&M chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau, the national aerospace engineering honor society. As a graduate student she has interned with Sandia National Labs as a research and development intern. Since 2023 she has interned with the Air Force Research Lab’s Autonomous Capabilities Team (ACT3) where her work on safety assurance and multi-constraint satisfaction contributes to the Safe Trusted Autonomy for Responsible Spacecraft (STARS) program.
Congratulations Cassie-Kay!