Six students receive scholarships supporting crash safety research

Six Virginia Tech engineering students received 2026-27 Clay Gabler Memorial Scholarships supporting their study of transportation and crash safety, injury biomechanics, vehicle crashworthiness, automated vehicles, and aeronautical safety.

The awards have been given annually since 2023 in honor of Hampton Clay Gabler III, former professor and chair of the undergraduate biomedical engineering program in the College of Engineering, who died in 2021. They are funded by the Clay Gabler Undergraduate Endowment and Virginia Tech and administered by the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science. A total of 23 students have received the scholarships with a total of approximately $68,000 awarded.

“Clay Gabler was a dear friend and colleague to all of our biomedical engineering faculty, staff, and students,” said Stefan Duma, the institute's executive director. “He was always very student focused and loved working with his graduate students. These scholarships honor his legacy and his student-first mindset.”

The students were recognized at an April 9 ceremony in Kelly Hall. The event also featured a lecture by Amanda Agnew, professor of health and rehabilitation sciences at the Ohio State University, and an expert in transportation safety research.

The scholarship recipients for 2026-27 are:

• Asha Patel, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering working with Mark Begonia, director of testing at the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab
• John Linehan, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering who is also pursuing an accelerated master’s degree in biomedical engineering, working with Begonia
• Elijah Buckland, a doctoral student in engineering mechanics working with Costin Untaroiu, associate professor of biomedical engineering
• Caitlyn Jung, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering and a master’s student in public health, working with Steve Rowson, professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab
• Ethan Burt, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering working with Pamela VandeVord, N. Waldo Harrison Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and director of research and scholarship at ICTAS
• Macy Calhoun, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering working with Rowson

“This scholarship means a lot to me,” Burt said. “It gives me the resources to travel and attend conferences, allowing me the opportunity to share my work and connect with researchers in my field.”

“I am extremely grateful for this scholarship opportunity,” Patel said. “It allows me to continue my undergraduate studies while pursuing meaningful research in the helmet industry.”