The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation has chosen UCF honors student Christopher Frye as one of its 2012 recipients and will present him with a $10,000 check during the Knights’ Oct. 4 football game at Bright House Networks Stadium.
Frye, a double-major in physics and mathematics, will be given the check by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell during a second-quarter break in the football action against East Carolina University. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Mitchell, the sixth astronaut to walk on the moon, has been invited to the president’s box to view the game, said Dean Alvin Wang of the Burnett Honors College.
Frye traveled to Switzerland this summer to participate in a Research Experience for Undergraduates at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
He hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematical physics with a specialization in high-energy theory. He also wants to conduct research in string theory and eventually teach at a university.
The astronaut scholarship is given to undergraduate STEM students based solely on merit. The foundation annually awards 28 scholarships, and since 1986 has disbursed nearly $3.5 million to students nationwide.
Astronauts are traveling to 13 universities in September and October to present this year’s scholarships, including trips to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Southern California and Georgia Tech.