MLive 2026 Roger B. Chaffee Awards
West Michigan Aviation Academy senior wins scholarship honoring Grand Rapids astronaut
By John Tunison | jtunison@mlive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A senior at West Michigan Aviation Academy has been awarded this year’s Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship.
Duong was named the winner of the $7,500 per year, four-year scholarship during an April 30 event at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The prestigious scholarship was created to honor Navy Lieutenant Commander Roger B. Chaffee, a Grand Rapids native who died along with two other astronauts in a flash fire aboard the Apollo 1 spacecraft on Jan. 27, 1967, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In his application for the Chaffee scholarship, Duong made his ambitions known by stating that he hopes to “become the engineer whose vehicle carries humanity beyond Earth.” Duong, who plans to attend the University of Michigan, said he’s always had a strong interest in aerospace technology. Bryan Forney, the engineering department leader at West Michigan Aviation Academy, said Duong exemplifies what the scholarship is about.
“Charles is a hard-working student who displays the same work ethic and commitment to learning that Lt Commander Chaffee was known for. He has a passion for aerospace engineering and has demonstrated outstanding potential as an engineer, student, citizen and leader,” Forney wrote in a recommendation letter. Duong has a strong interest in robotics and has been a member of FIRST Robotics Team 9206. One of his long-term goals is to improve accessibility and efficiency in robotic systems to benefit society. During high school, he has showed leadership capabilities. He was soccer team captain and held leadership roles on the student council and No Surrender Running Club Youth Board. The Chaffee scholarship adopted changes for this year’s award that made it a more significant funding mechanism for the winner. In past years, winners were given $5,000 in a one-time award. The scholarship fund, boosted by an unnamed donor, also is paying for three sixth grade students to Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Alabama. The Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship Fund, established in 1967, is given each year to an outstanding senior attending one of the schools in the Kent Intermediate School District, who intends to pursue a college career in engineering or the sciences.
It’s the 59th year of the Chaffee scholarship program and the first time a student at the West Michigan Aviation Academy has won the award. Located on the campus of Gerald R. Ford International Airport, the charter school, authorized by Grand Valley State University, has a curriculum rich in aviation, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), and robotics.
Duong was recognized during the April 30 awards banquet at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The featured speaker was Mark Craig, a British director of the documentary “Apollo 1” about the 1967 doomed space flight that killed Chaffee, 31. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s first fatal spacecraft accident occurred during a pre-launch simulation. Chaffee died with crewmates Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Lt. Col. Edward H. White. He was survived by his wife and two children, and was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor after his death.