Spotlight: AeroAfro celebrates its founders
In honor of Black History Month, AeroAfro is celebrating its founding members and their support of the department. Arthur Brown, Cory Frontin, Stewart Isaacs, Cadence Payne, and Yonatan Tekleab founded AeroAfro in 2018, after recognizing the need for a supportive group that uplifted the experience of being a graduate student in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the African Diasporic community.
Since its founding, the group has worked with department leadership on mentorship, programming, and other initiatives, played a major role in instituting the MIT AeroAstro HBCU Partnership Program, and has created a safe and positive environment for Black graduate students in the department, growing its numbers from 5 to 18.
Meet AeroAfro’s founders:
Arthur Brown
SM ‘18 PhD ‘23
“My interest in aerospace began at age 4 when my father taught me to make my first paper airplane, and I’ve never looked back. Today, I study electric aircraft propulsion systems as a means of making aviation environmentally sustainable”
Cory Frontin
SM ‘18 PhD ‘23
“I’ve always been interested in the emergence of order from apparent chaos, be it the relationship between musicians and the audience during a Jazz band performance or how wind turbines interact with their environment”
Stewart Isaacs
SM ‘19 PhD ‘24
“My research grew from experiences working on solar installations in rural Asia and Africa. In general, I’m motivated to use engineering to support underserved communities.”
Cadence Payne
SM ‘20 PhD ‘24
“My love for the oceans began at age 4 followed by photography at age 12; these childhood joys motivated my work studying the oceans with hyperspectral eyes in space.”
Yonatan Tekleab
SM ‘11 PhD ‘20
“Driven by a passion to help others and grounded in the strength of close relationships, I strive to make meaningful contributions to both my community and my future career.”
