{"id":23570,"date":"2018-08-23T15:34:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T19:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencescosmaincms.cm.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=23570"},"modified":"2018-08-23T15:38:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T19:38:53","slug":"neil-armstrong-award-of-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/neil-armstrong-award-of-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

UCF alumnus Larry Bradley poses with the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/p><\/div>\n

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation honors Larry Bradley \u201994 for his contributions to space exploration\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Larry Bradley once discovered the most distant galaxy in the universe (at the time).\u00a0Now he will be recognized by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation at the Innovators Gala in Washington D.C. on Aug. 25.<\/p>\n

Bradley has been selected as the recipient of this year\u2019s Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence. The annual honor recognizes an Astronaut Scholar alum who has made a difference through his or her work and also embodies character, achievement and impact.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When the first launch of the space shuttle occurred on April 12, 1981,\u00a0Larry Bradley \u201994\u00a0and his family drove from their home in Orlando to camp roadside in Cape Canaveral and watch the historical moment. Among the spectators, a man had set up a large telescope and invited those around to peer into the skies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time and Jupiter and its moons and a very detailed view of moon craters. I had seen those things in books but I didn\u2019t know I could actually see the rings of Saturn with my own eyes,\u201d Bradley says. \u201cAs a young kid, that somehow ignited a spark in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradley, a Burnett Honors Scholar, who studied physics and mathematics at UCF, is now an astrophysicist and senior systems software engineer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.<\/p>\n

In 2008, he used the Hubble Space Telescope to locate the most distant galaxy in the universe, dating back to within the first billion years. Although that discovery has since been superseded, he says the James Webb Space Telescope will provide the opportunity for even more detailed exploration when it launches in 2021.<\/p>\n

While his discovery was one of the highlights of his career, he also points to this award as another meaningful moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeil Armstrong has always been a hero of mine so to receive an award named after him is just a huge, huge honor, and I am extremely humbled to win such a prestigious award,\u201d Bradley says.<\/p>\n

Bradley serves on the foundation\u2019s board of directors and its scholarship committee. For the first time this year, he will act as a mentor and was coincidentally assigned to Maasarani.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe astronaut scholarship is a lifelong support to its scholars,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s like joining a family.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Written by Jenna Marina Lee<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation honors Larry Bradley \u201994 for his contributions to space exploration\u00a0 Larry Bradley once discovered the most distant galaxy in the universe (at the time).\u00a0Now he will be recognized by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation at the Innovators Gala in Washington D.C. on Aug. 25. Bradley has been selected as the recipient of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[31,3,38,12,13,14,28,1],"tags":[354,5902,5901],"class_list":["post-23570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-news","category-awards","category-breaking-news","category-mathematics","category-news","category-physics-departments","category-top-news","category-uncategorized","tag-astronaut-scholarship-foundation","tag-larry-bradley","tag-neil-armstrong-award-of-excellence"],"yoast_head":"\nNeil Armstrong Award of Excellence - College of Sciences News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/neil-armstrong-award-of-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence - College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation honors Larry Bradley \u201994 for his contributions to space exploration\u00a0 Larry Bradley once discovered the most distant galaxy in the universe (at the time).\u00a0Now he will be recognized by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation at the Innovators Gala in Washington D.C. on Aug. 25. 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