The Georgia Southern University Alumni Association has awarded the Outstanding Senior Award to Honors Scholar Margaret Kilpatrick, who graduated in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in Spanish. Kilpatrick earned the distinction upon completion of all of her coursework in residence at the University, with the greatest number of hours earned, and with the highest overall GPA during the 2019-2020 academic year.

“On behalf of the Alumni Association Board of Directors we are delighted to honor Margaret and her outstanding accomplishments,” said Samantha Grovenstein Deal (’05), president, Georgia Southern University Alumni Association Board of Directors. “Margaret exemplifies what it means to soar as an Eagle.”

A student on the Statesboro Campus, Kilpatrick previously served as Georgia Southern’s chapter president of the National Mechanical Engineering Honors Society, Pi Tau Sigma, and was a student writing fellow for the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing. In addition, she conducted undergraduate research in jet turbine engine vibrations and emissions with standard and alternative fuels in the automotive and aerospace combustion laboratories for more than two years.

Kilpatrick recently completed an internship with NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. government’s civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the auspices of NASA’s structural dynamics and integration branch, she contributed to new vibration mitigation techniques for in-space applications. This summer, she will participate in an internship with Lockheed Martin before beginning graduate studies in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech this fall.

With Georgia Southern as her launching pad, Kilpatrick’s path to ingenuity and discovery is limitless.

“I plan on working in the aerospace industry with jet and rocket engines to continue to push the bounds of human understanding and capabilities for in-space exploration,” she said.

The Georgia Southern University Alumni Awards Gala was originally planned for April yet was derailed with the pandemic. The event is tentatively rescheduled for September where Kilpatrick will be honored in person.

“Margaret is a wonderful example for us to highlight as a university to demonstrate continued support and encouragement for young women excelling in STEM majors,” Deal said. “All of Eagle Nation supports you, Margaret, as you fly high working in jet propulsion and aerospace research. We can’t wait to see how you change the industry.”

The Georgia Southern Alumni Association fosters relationships with alumni and friends through programs that promote the growth, progress and welfare of Georgia Southern University.