Winners of the 2023 Henry Ford II Scholar Award Announced

The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is given annually to engineering students with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study. This year’s winners are mechanical engineering students Kyle Lethander and Rithvik Musuku, and computer science students Kyle McCandless and Patrick Rim.

Kyle Lethander chose mechanical engineering at Caltech to pursue his interests in fluid mechanics, combustion, and propulsion. Some highlights of his academic career have been the opportunity to take graduate aerospace courses in fluid mechanics and learn about current research through GALCIT and MCE symposia. In his SURF this summer, he will be collaborating with Professor Joseph Shepherd and the Caltech Explosion Dynamics Laboratory to implement an experimental technique for simultaneous velocity and temperature measurements of combustion processes. After Caltech, he plans to pursue a PhD in experimental or computational fluid dynamics. Kyle is advised by Professor Tim Colonius.

Rithvik Musuku is interested in thermal-fluid sciences. He chose to study at Caltech for the extraordinary courses and research opportunities in MCE and GALCIT. This summer, Rithvik will be working on CFD and heat transfer analysis for 100% reusable rockets as an intern at Stoke Space. Rithvik is advised by Professor Tim Colonius.

Kyle McCandless is interested in a wide range of computer science applications including artificial reality, financial modeling, and robotic perception and planning. He chose Caltech because of its commitment to scientific rigor and its small, collaborative environment with opportunities for mentorship. Kyle is working as a quantitative development intern at Akuna Capital this summer, and is excited to go into the tech industry after graduating. Outside of the classroom, he loves to play sports and competes on the men’s tennis and men’s cross country teams at Caltech. Kyle is advised by Professor Adam Blank. 

Patrick Rim is a Junior majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Information and Data Sciences. Over the past few years, he has conducted machine learning research with various groups at Caltech. Last summer, he worked on a computer vision project as a SURF fellow with the Alvarez Lab. Over the past year, he has worked with the Yue Lab on an AI for Science project studying animal behavior. This spring, he is working at Airstrafe Interactive as a game programming intern, and this summer, he will be working at Squarepoint Capital as a quantitative research intern. After graduation, he plans to pursue a PhD in machine learning and eventually work in industry as a researcher. Patrick is advised by Professor Adam Blank