New Scholarship Established by NASA Distinguished Service Medal Awardee and Capitol Tech Faculty Jeff Volosin



Capitol Technology University is proud to announce the establishment of a new student scholarship by benefactor and long-time faculty member Jeff Volosin.

The Joe Volosin Scholar: Annual Scholarship Fund is a named scholarship established in memory of Jeff’s late brother, Joe. Awarded annually, the scholarship will be received by one undergraduate student who exhibits a passion for Astronautical Engineering with a demonstrated financial need. The student must be enrolled as a new or returning Sophomore, Junior, or Senior, and the first Joe Volosin Scholar will be awarded in Fall 2024.

Dr. Sims and Benefactor Jeff Volosin at Scholarship Signing
Dr. Sims and Benefactor Jeff Volosin at Scholarship Signing

 

Jeff established this scholarship “to support students who share in Joe’s passion for learning and excitement about applying classroom knowledge to real-world engineering challenges. This scholarship aims to honor Joe’s legacy by empowering future engineers to pursue their dreams with the same curiosity, dedication, and excellence that Joe exemplified throughout his life.”

Jeff Volosin is a Professor of Practice in Astronautical and Space Engineering (ASE) at Capitol Technology University. His career spans both the public and private industries within the aerospace field, including teaching at our university as an adjunct and now full-time faculty member for over 20 years. With an impressive career of 38 years supporting NASA, he was recently awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his lifetime achievements and contributions to the Agency. This great honor is the highest award that can be bestowed by NASA, and the medal is awarded to those who display distinguished service, ability, or courage, and have personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. The contribution must be so extraordinary that other forms of recognition would be inadequate.

On March 28, 2024, Jeff received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal during the Administrator's Agency Honor Awards Ceremony at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio. During the ceremony, members of NASA leadership commended Jeff for his support of “nearly every NASA Center across his diverse portfolio of work. His record of outstanding achievements spans systems engineering, project and program management, and coalition building. He has led numerous successful NASA missions and continues to have an extreme impact on the Agency, including postponing his retirement to offer his superior skills in coordinating across the agency as Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Acting Deputy Associate Administrator.”

Jeff Volosin Receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Jeff Volosin Receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal

 

“Jeff's career acumen and constant focus on continuous improvement has positioned him to lead the Agency across science areas,” stated Cathy Richardson, Director of Flight Projects, GFSC. “He has built immensely successful teams, resolved stakeholder communication issues, and implemented technical and programmatic solutions that set the foundation for each organization as he moved to support the Agency where he was needed. His illustrious career and lifetime of service have had a profound impact on NASA and are more than deserving of the Distinguished Service Medal.”

The ceremony can be viewed on YouTube.

Jeff’s dedication to the field and to his students at Capitol Tech can be seen throughout his esteemed career. Through the Joe Volosin Scholar: Annual Scholarship Fund, he provides financial opportunities to students pursuing this exciting field, in honor of his late brother. Jeff describes Joe as “a remarkable individual whose life was marked by an insatiable curiosity, a passion for learning, and a commitment to academic excellence. Joe was a friend to everyone he met and an avid computer gamer, ahead of his time in the 1980s.” After graduating college with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Joe worked at an AT&T microelectronics facility in PA, where his vital contributions helped prevent manufacturing defects and ensured reliability in production of critical undersea cable repeater station components. This highly technical, specialized skillset set him apart as the brilliant and dedicated person that he was – a quality he shares with many of our Capitol Tech students.

To learn more about our Astronautical and Space Engineering programs and student offerings, visit our website.