SU Student Wins National Ammon S. Andes Award

By Olivia Maniscalco

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Daniel Oluwalana is the first Syracuse University student to receive the national Ammon S. Andes Award from the aerospace engineering honors society, Sigma Gamma Tau. Oluwalana was chosen over nominees from the 54 other Sigma Gamma Tau chapters across the country. He received the award because of his GPA, rank, extracurriculars, technical achievements, and an assigned essay topic. 

Oluwalana’s Sigma Gamma Tau advisor, SU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Barry Davidson says he is “highly motivated” and “dedicated.” Once he got nominated for the Syracuse chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau, Davidson knew Oluwalana had a good chance of winning the national competition. 

Oluwalana got into engineering when in 2012, in his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria, there was a tragic plane crash that killed 153 people and was mainly caused by problems with the engine. It would not have happened if proper engineering was in play. Oluwalana was driving near the crash when it happened, and saw the smoke. He described it as “surreal” and “heartbreaking.” He immediately knew he wanted to be an engineer to prevent stuff like this from happening again.

Oluwalana is incredibly thankful to have received the award. He described it as “humbling.” He will be attending Stanford University for graduate school, and hopes to one day become a professor in aerospace engineering at a top university.