Mary Grace Hager, A&S ’19, wins SMART Scholarship

Mary Grace Hager, a double major in computer science and mathematics, is a recipient of the Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship.  For her senior year at Cornell, this scholarship will provide full tuition and an annual cash stipend in return for a one-year employment commitment, after graduation, with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Dahlgren, Virginia.

Mary Grace is a Cornell Career Services Peer Advisor and a MATLAB Student Ambassador.  In 2017, she was awarded the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Summer Journeyman Fellowship.  Hager’s ARL research has resulted in several published reports of which she is first author: “Modeling Quantum Teleportation with Quantum Tools in Python (QuTiP)” and “Propagation of Statistical Noise Through a Two-Qubit Maximum Likelihood Tomography.”

She is a member of the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT); the Association of Computer Science Undergraduates (ACSU); the A&S Dean’s Student Advisory Council; the Cornell Elderly Partnership; the Cornell Math Club; and Women in Computing at Cornell (WICC).  Currently she serves as President of the Cornell University Deaf Awareness Project (CUDAP) whose mission it is to raise awareness of the issues facing the Deaf community and to introduce ASL as a language option into the University’s curriculum.

After her year of service at the MDA, Mary Grace plans to earn her Ph.D. in computer science and pursue research that will combine technical problem-solving with her commitment to public service.

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program has been established by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support undergraduate and graduate students (freshmen through Ph.Ds) who are pursuing technical degrees in STEM-related disciplines.  The program aims to increase the number of civilian scientists and engineers working at DoD laboratories.