TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Onyema Benigna Ajuogu, a freshman majoring in aerospace engineering at The University of Alabama, received an R-W Foundation Scholarship at the Women in Aviation International Conference in Dallas.

Women in Aviation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of women in all aviation career fields and interests. The group provides resources to assist women in aviation and to encourage young women to consider aviation as a career.

Ajuogu, who is from Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria, was selected out of more than 1,000 other applicants. She is working with Dr. Anwarul Haque, associate professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics at UA, completing research in composite materials.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering has about 1,800 students and more than 95 faculty. It has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.