Two N.C. A&T Students Selected as 2025 Astronaut Scholars

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Nov. 7, 2025) – Two North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students, Avery Love and Alexis Spence, have been named 2025 Astronaut Scholars by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). Each will receive up to $15,000 in financial support from the nonprofit organization, which recognizes high-achieving junior and senior undergraduates pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Established in 1984 by the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts, the ASF was created to encourage university students to pursue scientific advancement and help ensure the nation’s global leadership in technology. In addition to financial support for eligible educational expenses, Astronaut Scholars gain lifelong engagement opportunities with astronauts, executives, researchers, innovators and alumni through the Michael Collins Family Professional Development Program. They also receive a fully funded trip to attend ASF’s Innovators Symposium and gala, which includes a technical conference where scholars present their research.

North Carolina A&T became the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to be an ASF Partnering Institution in 1994. Since spring 2020, A&T’s Astronaut Scholars have earned up to $145,000 to be used for eligible educational expenses in addition to other listed benefits. 

“I am delighted to celebrate this accomplishment of Avery and Alexis. It is students like these two who embody the spirit of A&T, make The Honors College extraordinary and shape a better future for all,” said Margaret I. Kanipes, Ph.D., Honors College dean.

Love, of Harrisburg, North Carolina, is a junior pursuing a B.S. in chemistry and biology with a minor in philosophy and maintains a 3.90 GPA. A Cheatham-White Scholar and Honors College student, he conducts Alzheimer’s disease research under College of Science and Technology professor Thomas Forshaw, Ph.D., developing methods to study brain metabolism using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Love has also completed research at Yale and Duke universities, examining the biochemical composition of marine organisms and RNA structures linked to neurodegenerative and cancerous diseases. His work has earned multiple presentation awards, including first place at the 2024 Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering Undergraduate Research Symposium and a travel award to the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists.

Beyond research, Love serves as vice president-elect of the Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society and community service chair for the Undergraduate Student National Dental Association. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical biology, focusing on natural product synthesis and equitable access to life-saving therapeutics. 

“Research allows me to use my curiosity and creativity to create a healthier future for all of Earth’s creatures,” said Love. “The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation has further ignited my passion for biomedical research by providing invaluable support and guidance for my career as a Black scientist. This award furthers my goals of improving health outcomes inside and outside the lab.”

Spence, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a sophomore pursuing a B.S. in physics with a minor in theater, with a focus on professional acting. A Chancellor’s List student who was valedictorian of her graduating class at George Washington High School, she combines her passions for science and the arts to make physics more accessible and engaging to diverse audiences.

Spence’s research spans experimental astrophysics and particle physics, including work at the University of Chicago through the Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics group, where she engineered components for an experimental telescope studying ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. In summer 2025, she joined the Department of Energy’s Stanford Linear Accelerator Center to develop particle detectors with the Dark Matter-Quantum Information Science group. She earned the 2024 Beth Brown Memorial Award for Best Undergraduate Poster at the National Society of Black and Hispanic Physicists conference.

In addition to her research and academics, Spence serves as media chair for the Society of Physics Students and as an acting coach and gymnastics instructor. She aspires to pursue research at CERN and promote public engagement in physics through education, performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

“Science requires a new level of creativity in order to leverage changes from modern innovation. For many minorities, science is an intimidating field; however, their input and presence is needed,” said Spence. “I am passionate about using the medium of art to bring new ideas to STEM fields. Through my research, science communication, and even my personal talents and hobbies such as gymnastics, I aim to change the public’s image of science.”