In early November, the 20 Twenties program held its awards luncheon at the 65th Annual Laureates Awards sponsored by Aviation Week Network at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. Tatiana Jaimes ’22 and Alina Santander Vinokurova ’23 were two of the twenty winners selected for this year’s awards. The purpose of the  program is to cultivate, inform and inspire the next generation of aerospace and defense professionals across the world. The program spotlights exceptional students who will tackle some of the most significant challenges posed in the aerospace and defense industries.  

Tatiana Jaimes worked as an electromechanical systems pathways intern at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where she worked on robotic spacecraft systems. Jaimes is designing and constructing a mechanical rover with a telemetry system capable of collecting data about the status of the driver, rover and operating environment through NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Program. 

Alina Santander Vinokurova became the first Bolivian to complete in the NASA Rover Challenge and helped design a mechanical rover inspired by the Andean hairy armadillo at the Condensed Matter Laboratory in Bolivia. Additionally, she has presented more than 70 professional talks, two of which being TEDx talks regarding her experiences in and perspectives on the aerospace industry.  

The majority of the 2022 winners are international students or those whose families immigrated to the United States from other countries making this year’s program the most diverse class in the program history. We are so proud to represent not one but two students at this year’s event.