Phillips joins All-USA team

By JAMIE ZIEGLER, For The Weirton Daily Times
Few college students excel in academics enough to be named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team — only 60 each year to be exact, and just 11 ever from West Virginia University.

Kerri Phillips of Weirton is one of them.

Phillips is in the doctoral aerospace engineering program at WVU, and she said the award means a great deal to her and the university.

‘‘It is an honor to be named to the team. It is also good for the university to receive the recognition. They often get taken for granted,’’ she said.

There is a much higher ratio of men in engineering programs at WVU and across the country, and Phillips believes this award provides women with the recognition they, too, deserve.

Nearly 500 students are nominated annually by higher education institutions across the country and are judged on academic achievement, leadership, activities and how students expand their intellectual abilities beyond the classroom setting.

Phillips has no shortage in any of these categories.

She finished her undergraduate degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering in December — ahead of schedule — and received direct admission to the doctoral program.

She said her interest in the aerospace-related field stems back to when she was a child.

‘‘I used to watch space shuttle launches with my dad as a kid. I always wanted to be an astronaut, and I may still pursue that dream,’’ she said.

Her work with the NASA Reduced Gravity Flight Opportunities program as part of the WVU microgravity research team and flight control lab testing on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner project are just a few of her accomplishments.

Flight control is something she finds very interesting, she said. It involves working with testing, design and research of all the moving mechanisms that operate on planes.

‘‘It is a lot of computer work, and it can be hard to sit there all day sometimes,’’ she said.

However, Phillips said she does enjoy working with the flight simulator.

Of all the recognition she has received, Phillips is most proud of being named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar in 2006 — the nation’s premier math, science and engineering award.

John Kuhlman is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at WVU and has known Phillips for three years. He worked with her as a mentor to the microgravity research team.

‘‘Kerri is an exceptional student, very hardworking and bright. She has really shown a great deal of maturity and focus in accomplishing the many tasks she has taken on,’’ he said.

Phillips also is involved with a number of volunteer service organizations and believes her academic achievements often overshadow her leadership service — particularly her work rescuing orphaned animals. She has been heavily involved with Lucky Pups Rescue animal shelter in Mount Morris, Pa.

Phillips and her colleagues have collected newspapers for the shelter to use, and she even organized an annual fundraiser through the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

‘‘This is a passion that is very close to my heart. My family and I love animals very much,’’ she said.

Phillips also takes time out to go back to local high schools and middle schools in the Weirton area, where she speaks to students to encourage them to enter the math and science field.

She said this is particularly important for young girls, who may be discouraged by feelings that math and science fields, such as engineering, are male dominated.

‘‘WVU has provided me a real female-friendly environment,’’ she said.

In addition, she has received a number of other awards and honors, including a space grant scholarship and undergraduate research fellowship from NASA, a WVU Presidential Scholarship, a PROMISE Scholarship and has been heavily involved with the Sigma Gamma Tau National Aerospace Engineering Honorary.