May 13, 2010 — Ian Czekala came to the University of Virginia intending to follow the “typical path” to a career in engineering. Along the way – ever looking upward – he discovered a way to merge a passion for understanding the universe with the technical knowledge to accomplish it.
Czekala is scheduled to receive two bachelor’s degrees on May 23, one in aerospace engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the other in astronomy from the College of Arts & Sciences – “hybrid training” that his thesis adviser, astronomy professor Kelsey Johnson, calls “essential” for the long-term future of astronomy.
Czekala, of Miller Place, N.Y., plans to use his engineering training to pursue astronomical science and improve instrumentation for the next generation of telescopes and spacecraft.
