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Department of Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student Adrienne Rudolph received a 2025-2026 Women in Defense (WID) scholarship. The WID Scholar Program, an affiliate of the National Defense Industry Association, supports high-performing women pursuing careers in fields that contribute to U.S. national security, including law and engineering, with the goal of entering and strengthening government, academia, or defense industry workforce.
Currently leading the University of Maryland’s (UMD) TERP RAPTOR student team, Rudolph is conducting research on asteroid disruption modeling to help prevent future Earth impacts. TERP RAPTOR is a UMD engineering initiative aimed at developing a rideshare probe to intercept and observe the Apophis asteroid, which will be passing close to earth in the spring of 2029.
"Being recognized as a Women in Defense Scholar and receiving this award is an honor,” she said. “It will allow me to bring awareness to this thrilling field through teaching and my research.”
Working with faculty advisors Brent Barbee and Ray Sedwick, Rudolph explores the underlying challenges of potential asteroid impacts, such as when to alter an asteroid's trajectory versus completely disrupting it.
“Specifically, I am determining what defines robust disruption, and I am developing a model that balances computational speed and accuracy to predict the behavior of fragments resulting from disruption,” explains Rudolph. Her end goal is to define the most desirable disruption initial conditions and improve metrics for mission success.
Originally from Indiana, Adrienne earned her B.S. in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University in 2022. After a year working in the aerospace industry, she came to Maryland to pursue her M.S. '25 and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering.
Her research has spanned from Martian super volcanoes to space debris, and she is now focusing on planetary defense, particularly the threat of potentially hazardous asteroids.
This summer, Rudolph is completing an internship with The Aerospace Corporation and, looking ahead, she aspires to contribute to planetary defense efforts and inspire the next generation of planetary defenders.
“Asteroids are out there, they have hit us before, and space will continue to hurl them at us—the question is when,” said Rudolph. “But make no mistake, we'll be ready."
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July 10, 2025
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