The Los Angeles Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering has announced an expansion of its annual Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship Awards program to students at the Girls Academic Leadership Academy, located at Los Angeles High School.

The scholarships will continue to be presented to Fairfax High School students interested in studying engineering, science, mathematics or medicine in college for the 25th consecutive year, and SAMPE is excited that 2021 will mark the first year GALA students are also eligible.

GALA is the first public all-girls STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It serves students in the sixth through 12th grades, founder and principal Liz Hicks said. In addition to top grades, awardees are required to have plans to study engineering, science, mathematics or medicine in college, and must have financial need that will be eased by a scholarship.

The program is administered by Dr. Howard Katzman, education chairman for SAMPE’s Los Angeles Chapter, in cooperation with the Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo, where Katzman is a senior staff scientist. The Los Angeles City Council will also present commendations to the scholarship awardees, coordinated by Joan Pelico, chief of staff for Councilman Paul Koretz, 5th District.

The awards program was initially funded by private donations and contributions from the Aerospace Corp. It is also supported by the Air Force Space Systems Manufacturing Problem Prevention Program as well as private companies and donors. Anyone wishing to donate or seeking information about the Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarships program can email howard.a.katzman@aero.org.