Recently, Matthew Reilly landed one of NASA’s 25 national aeronautics scholarships. He will receive a $15,000 per year for the remainder of his college career.
by Jane Meggitt, Special Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD — College student Matthew Reilly, 20, has been obsessed with aeronautics since he was young.
But unlike most who spent their youth looking up to the sky in wonderment, Mr. Reilly, a township resident who will soon be a junior at Rowan University, is pursuing this dream.
Recently, he landed one of NASA’s 25 national aeronautics scholarships. He will receive a $15,000 per year for the remainder of his college career.
In addition, he will have the opportunity at a $10,000 internship at a NASA research facility next summer.
Mr. Reilly said he spent many hours watching shows on the Military Channel and doing Internet research on aeronautics.
Although he was initially a bit intimidated about applying for the NASA award, noting that many recent recipients attended Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale, he became more confident when he learned that a fellow Rowan student had won the award just last year.
”Rowan has a great engineering program,” he said. “It’s a great education at a great price.”
To apply for the NASA award, he had to submit three letters of recommendation, and write an essay on what he believed would be the greatest challenges in aerospace in the next 20 years.
He also had to write a personal essay, detailing what he wanted to achieve in an aerospace career.
In his essay, he wrote, “solving the challenge of energy will require the patience and creativity of all members of the aeronautics industry. Using alternative fuel sources is a probable solution for dealing with issues surrounding petroleum products.
”Hydrogen is a powerful, clean energy source though research has to be completed to make producing it more affordable. Natural gas is plentiful, though it is less energy dense then petroleum products and is not completely carbon neutral,” he continued. “Biofuel technology offers an environmentally friendly way of producing jet fuel and natural gas, and possibly a cost efficient method of producing hydrogen.”
Mr. Reilly’s accomplishments go beyond aerospace. His 2009 Eagle Scout project involved making wood duck nesting boxes for the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. He is a 2011 graduate of Allentown High School and was a member of the English Honor Society.
In addition to his NASA scholarship, he also receives tuition funding from the Rowan Scholars Program, based on his SAT scores and high school class ranking. As a freshman, he received a $1,000 scholarship from the Knights of Columbus from St. John’s Church, Allentown.
In his spare time, he enjoys canoeing and hiking.
Mr. Reilly intends to further his education with at least a master’s degree in aerospace engineering, and possibly a doctorate. He would like to work for a major aerospace company such as Lockheed Martin or Boeing — or a government agency like NASA.