March 2014

NSPE TODAY
Student Makes the Most of NSPE Scholarship

WINNING THE 2008 BLITMAN SCHOLARSHIP ENABLED GININA VITUCCI TO TAKE ON A NUMBER OF INTERNSHIPS, INCLUDING ONE AT NASA’S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, WHERE SHE WORKED ON A GEOTECHNICAL ROVER NAMED TIGER.

Ginina Vitucci, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Purdue University, has big plans to use her technical skills to help others. Specializing in exoskeletons and prostheses, she wants to make life better for amputees and those who suffer from muscle and bone atrophy. “My current research on harnessing and attachment of these devices is applicable to a wide range of patients, including war veterans, car accident survivors, the elderly, people with degenerative diseases, and even astronauts.”

Vitucci was supported on her engineering path by the Maureen L. and Howard N. Blitman, P.E., Scholarship to Promote Diversity in Engineering, which she won in 2008. The scholarship, provided by the NSPE Educational Foundation, supported her efforts and helped her graduate last year with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida.

Vitucci is part of a growing number of Hispanics who are earning engineering degrees. In 2011, Hispanics earned 8.5% of engineering undergraduate degrees, up from 5.5% in 2002. From 2001–10, the number of Hispanic women earning engineering bachelor’s degrees increased each year to 1,346 in 2010, according to the National Science Foundation.

Grateful for the recognition, Vitucci said that “the scholarship allowed me to focus on my classes and design projects without having to juggle my time with a job.”

She explained that the $5,000 award gave her the freedom “to choose a more challenging, time-consuming, and rewarding senior design project since time commitment was not an issue.” The project’s objective was to turn a stock ATV into an autonomous surveillance and exploration platform, within a number of guidelines (such as modularity and ease of assembly). The seven-member team named the project TRAVLER, short for Tactical Remote and Autonomous Vehicle Long-Range Exploration Robot.

As lead engineer for TRAVLER, Vitucci oversaw its $16,000 budget as well as the weekly reports delivered to their corporate sponsor, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, based in Orlando. In addition to leading the project, she helped develop and implement remote control and autonomy interfaces for the choke, throttle, brake, and steering systems.

The final demonstration and review impressed Lockheed Martin; in addition, Vitucci presented TRAVLER at the national Capstone Design Conference 2012 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. She was one of 20 students selected to attend by the American Society of Engineering Education.

The Blitman scholarship is awarded annually to a high school senior from an ethnic minority who has been accepted into an ABET-accredited engineering program at a four-year college or university.

To learn more about NSPE’s scholarships or to donate, visit www.nspe.org and click on “NSPE Educational Foundation.”