The Metro - Washington Chapter celebrated Scholarship and Innovation at a special evening at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on October 12, 2017.  At the awards ceremony in the beautiful and historic National Academy of Sciences building, twenty graduate and undergraduate fellows from five area ARCS/MWC Partner Universities were welcomed into the elite ARCS Scholar Community to the applause of ARCS/MWC members, guests, donors, corporate executives and venture capitalists. For those attending, one could feel hopeful about the future of U.S. science.  The sheer symbolism of being in the National Academy of Sciences made the event memorable for all.  At the "Poster Session" this year’s ARCS/MWC Scholars presented their work, which is researching everything from microscopic traffic computer models for intelligent transportation systems to tissue engineering and biomaterials on the regeneration of neuronal glial cells in the brain.  AIAA President-Elect, Dr. John Langford introduced the Keynote Speaker, Dr. John C. Mather, 2006 Nobel Laureate Physics and NASA JWST Senior Project Scientist, who gave an inspirational talk stressing the importance of U.S. research and new technologies. Dr. Mather’s talk, “Where did we come from, where are we going”, inspired questions for future generations to answer, and reminded us that our nation knows what it takes to innovate: a sustained commitment to scientific research, a world-class workforce, and an economic climate that rewards entrepreneurship and innovation.  Elaine Petro, University of Maryland 2017-2018 Lockheed Martin Scholar commented:  

"The Scholars Reception was a really special night for us ... Dr. Mather’s talk was incredible and I really liked hearing from all of the university representatives as well! I was so impressed by all of the other ARCS Scholars that I met at the event, and am proud to be in their company. So, thanks again for putting together an amazing reception for us – attending this event was one of the highlights of my graduate career and will be something I always will remember fondly." 

Representatives of MWC's five partner universities spoke and presented awards to the scholars for their outstanding academic and research accomplishments:

Dr. Janet Mann, Vice Provost for Research & Professor of Biology and Psychology, Georgetown University ;

Dr. David Dolling, Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, George Washington University;

Dr. Denis Wirtz, Vice Provost for Research, Theophilus H. Smoot Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University;

Dr. Wolfgang Losert, Professor & Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Education, & Faculty Affairs, Director, UMD-NCI Partnership for Cancer Technology, University of Maryland; and

Dr. Archie Holmes, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Virginia.

Thank you to all for creating a memoriable evening for all.