DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT

Maritza (Crabtree) Stapanian graduated Valedictorian of the class of 1967.  Upon graduation, Maritza studied at the Space Physics Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with Honors.  She subsequently was admitted to the Planetary Science Program at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she earned a PhD.  The conclusions from her doctoral thesis helped to update the time horizon calculations for the creation and evolution of individual stars, our galaxy and solar systems.  

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After earning her PhD, Maritza enlisted in the US Air Force where she had a distinguished career with assignments in programs highly critical to national security.  She received numerous Air Force honors including the Commendation Medal (twice) and the Meritorious Service Medal (three times).  

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Martitza’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer led her to actively support scientific research of the disease.  She died in Cincinnati in October 2001.