Amelia Earhart Fellowship

Profile and Committee

The Fellowship

Status: September 2022

The Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honour of Amelia Earhart, famed pilot and Zonta club member.

Zonta International District 29

The Amelia Earhart Fellowships are awarded annually to 30 women pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The Fellowship of USD10,000 may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees.

Who is Eligible?

Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree who demonstrate a superior academic record conducting research applied to aerospace engineering or space sciences are eligible.
Students must be registered in a full-time Ph.D./doctoral program and completed at least one year of that program or have received a master’s degree in an aerospace-applied field at the time the application is submitted.
Applicants must not graduate before April the following year after having filed the application.

Please note:

Post-doctoral research programs are not eligible for the Fellowship.
Members and employees of Zonta International or the Zonta International Foundation are also not eligible to apply for the Fellowship.
Note that previous Amelia Earhart fellows are not eligible to apply to renew the Fellowship for a second year.

Application Process

The Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Committee reviews the applications and recommends recipients to the Zonta International Board.

All applicants are evaluated on the criteria stated in the requirements section of the application.
All details of the evaluations are kept confidential; evaluations are not disclosed to applicants.
All applicants will be notified of their status by the end of April the year after the application has been filed.

How Do I Apply?

Applications are made online on the Zonta International website. Applicants may apply for the Amelia Earhart Fellowships here...

Deadline for applications is 15^th November each year.

2022 District 29 winners

Dorota Budzyn from Poland studying at the University of Glasgow (UK) | Bio JPG
Marie Fayolle from France studying at Delft University of Technology (NL) | Bio JPG
Jeimmy Nataly Buitrago Leiva from Colombia studying at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES) | Bio JPG
Yana Lishkova from Bulgaria studying at University of Oxford (UK) | Bio JPG
Benita Nortmann from Germany and Switzerland studying at Imperial College London (UK) | Bio JPG
Lidia Carós Roca from Spain studying at Imperial College London (UK) | Bio JPG
Emma Stevenson from the United Kingdom studying at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES) | Bio JPG

2022 | Amelia Erhart Fellowship Celebrations ...

... in Madrid | Area 01

In January 2023 the celebration of Amelia Earhart fellows of Area 01 took place in Madrid. D29 Governor Christine Mousset and Alina Agüero Bruna, chair of the D29 Amelia Earhart Committee and member of the Zonta Club of Madrid, handed over the certificates to the award winners:

Nataly Buitrago from Colombia, studying at the Universidad Politécnica de Barcelona and
Emma Stevenson from the UK, currently at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Both are working in 'Space Debris' and how to control it but using different approaches. They are both outstanding and are very thankful to Zonta for awarding them the AE fellowship.

Professors, friends and representatives from the Colombian embassy accompanied them for a very interesting, happy and good dinner. Thank you zontians from the world for making this possible!

... in London | Area 03

In 2022 United Kingdom had four new fellows:

Zonta International District 29

For the 15th time Zonta London Club was hosting its annual Amelia Earhart Celebration dinner for the new fellows. They were joined at the dinner by five alumni fellows and members of the London club and friends. Governor Christine Mousset who was going to perform the pin ceremony, unfortunately suffered a delayed flight and arrived only in time for the dessert. Britt Gustawsson was assisted by area director Anne-Li Stjernholm in giving the new fellows their pins and diploma.

The fellows each gave a speech on their recent research and studies, and we also got an update from the alumni fellows on their work since they received their pins. These young women are impressive and women around the globe are grateful to them for breaking gender barriers. They all expressed in no uncertain terms how important the fellowship has been to them and how grateful they are to Zonta International for giving them the opportunity to attend conferences and other work-related events which would otherwise not been possible.

A raffle with prizes donated by Mandeville Hotel in London and club members will generate ca $1000 for the Amelia Earhart Endowment Fund.

Meet some of the 2021 District 29 winners

Sofia Medina Cassillas from the United States and Spain studying at University of Cambridge | Video in Spanish

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Merel Vergaaij from the Netherlands studying at University of Glasgow (UK) | Video in English

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ZAC | Zonta Alumnae Connected

Nominees for all Zonta Awards and Scholarships are invited to join ZAC (Zonta Awardees Connected) - an inspiring worldwide network what meets on a regular basis. Our network is growing! So - receiving the Amelia Earhart Fellowship means to hold a ticket to all the Zonta alumnae in your hands and also one to the worldwide network of Zonta.