Two College of Medicine undergraduates have been named to the 2025 Astronaut Scholar Class, a national honor recognizing the best and brightest college students in science, technology, engineering and math.
This year, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation honored 74 students including three from UCF:
- Kyle Coutray, who is seeking a double degree though the Medicine and Engineering & Computer Science (MEDD) program that allows undergraduates to earn two baccalaureate degrees – one in mechanical engineering or any other engineering discipline UCF offers and one in biomedical sciences.
- Sun Latt, who is seeking his B.S. degree in biomedical sciences.
- Keanu Brayman, a UCF aerospace engineering student.
“We are so proud to have Kyle and Sun honored this year as Astronaut’s Scholars,” said Dr. William Self, who leads undergraduate programs at the College of Medicine’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. “Their passion for research in biomedical science, and the interface between medicine and engineering, is helping to drive our research mission in the College of Medicine. They are blessed with fantastic faculty who mentor them in their research projects and make a lasting impact not only in their lives but in the lives of so many with their discoveries.”
Coutray spent this summer doing research at Vanderbilt University developing NERV (Neuroscience Experimental Runtime for Vanderbilt), a comprehensive platform for building and running neuroscience experiments. Vanderbilt is a recognized leader in neurosciences research and NERV is designed to help scientists better understand the nervous system.
Latt was one of two UCF students selected for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, which honors candidates nationwide pursuing careers in STEM fields. Latt is determined to use science to help people heal more completely from bone injuries. His goal is to complete medical school and earn a doctorate degree in tissue engineering to create new therapeutic devices.
Astronaut Scholarships are awarded to students in their junior and senior year of college studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics with the intent to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their final degree. For more information on the Astronaut Scholarship, visit https://www.astronautscholarship.org/scholars/alumni/