The Los Angeles Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering has announced the recipients of the 2021 Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship Awards.

Since 1996, the awards have been given annually to students at Fairfax High School who plan to pursue careers in the science, medical, engineering and computer science fields. This year, the scholarships were opened to students at the Girls Academic Leadership Academy, located on the campus of Los Angeles High School. The amount of the awards is confidential.

The recipients from Fairfax High School were Grace Kim, Grace Lee, Ashley Chang, Humairah Djafar. GALA students Raquel Bravo, Tora Hoar Vea and Angela Cui also received scholarships. Additionally, funds to cover the cost of books during the first year of college were awarded to GALA students Kaia Thompson, Zooey Gastelo, Sophia Lemus and Kahlila Williams.

The awards were created in honor of Irene Epstein, wife of longtime Fairfax District George Epstein, who worked on advanced aerospace systems during the early decades of space exploration. The scholarships recognize the Epsteins’ belief that children desiring to go to college should not be deterred by financial limitations.

The board of directors of SAMPE L.A., led by Dr. Howard Katzman, senior scientist at the Aerospace Corporation, oversees the annual scholarship award program.

For information, visit lasampe.org.