Carson Graduate Fellowship - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

The Lt. Col. Kenneth Rondo Carson and Virginia Bryan Carson Graduate Fellowship is an endowment established by the estate of Virginia B. Carson, honoring her husband, a former member of the "Flying Tigers," a former member of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff Strategic Air Command, retired master navigator and enthusiast of space exploration. Colonel Carson greatly admired the professionalism and accomplishments of NASA's space program. 

LPL graduate alumnus Dr. Gordon Bjoraker (Ph.D. 1985) also provided substantial additional funding to The Carson Fellowship endowment, resulting in an increase in the annual payout of the endowment. Dr. Bjoraker has specialized in the study of the atmospheres of giant planets and brown dwarfs over a 40-year long career at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. 

The Carson Fellowship is awarded to students pursuing degrees in the Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, selected on the basis of academic achievement and the promise of further scholarly endeavor.