MEDFORD – Four years ago today on April 18, 2016, the NCAA announced Mitchell Black of the Tufts University men's track team as one of two student-athletes in the country to be awarded the prestigious Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship. He was the first recipient ever selected from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).
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| Mitchell Black on the University of Michigan campus recently. |
A four-time NCAA champion in the 800 meters who double-majored in mechanical engineering and astrophysics at Tufts, Black received a $24,000 scholarship after he was selected out of a pool of applicants from NCAA Division I, II and III schools. Recipients of the grant, which could be renewed for a second year, are recognized as combining the best elements of mind and body to achieve national distinction for their achievements and to be future leaders in their chosen field of career service.
"Mitchell's quiet confidence and sense of direction really stood out," said Andrew Alia, who at the time was chair of the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Committee, which chose the scholarship recipients. "Mitchell's accomplishments in the classroom, on the track and in the community have set him up to reach for the stars."
Putting it to good use
Today, Black is using the grant to help fund his studies in the University of Michigan's Aerospace Engineering PhD program. He is pursuing his dream of becoming an astronaut.
After graduating from Tufts in 2016, Black initially got started in Michigan's Aerospace Engineering PhD program that fall. However, within a few months, he realized that it was not a great fit for him at the time. He switched to the Master's track, and graduated in April 2017.
He then began a role as an intern at Michigan Aerospace Corporation in Ann Arbor. That transitioned into a full-time job as a Research Scientist. While he learned new skills and built relationships at the company, he realized that in order to oversee and direct new areas of research, as well as keep the dream of becoming an astronaut alive, he needed to return to school for a doctorate. In January 2020 he re-enrolled at the University of Michigan in the Aerospace Engineering PhD program.
"The Byers Scholarship was instrumental in my being able to resume the PhD program," Black said this week by email. "I firmly believe that I would not be back in school right now without its support, and that my dreams and aspirations would still be on hold."
He is currently a PhD Pre-Candidate in Aerospace Engineering at Michigan in the Distributed Aerospace Systems and Control Lab directed by Professsor Dimitra Panagou. His area of research broadly falls under the umbrella of Safety-Critical Control for Multi-Agent Systems. He recently co-authored a paper submitted for review to the Conference on Decision and Control: "A Quadratic Program based Control Synthesis under Spatiotemporal Constraints and Non-vanishing Disturbances."
As the semester is drawing to an end, he is wrapping up work for classes and preparing for his Candidacy Qualifying Exams scheduled for the end of May. If all goes well, he will advance to candidacy and be freed up to focus on research.
Still running
During his first two years out of Tufts, Black was also continuing to run competitively. He hoped to achieve a level of performance that would qualify him for some sort of professional contract. He lowered his 800 meters PR to 1:48.03, which qualified him to run at the 2018 USA Track & Field Indoor Championships in Albuquerque. He placed 12th, but did not hit a time that would have made him eligible for a professional contract. As he switched to a full-time role at Michigan Aerospace Corporation, he relaxed his training schedule to the point where he no longer competed at the same high level.
However, his hope is that after his PhD qualifying exams in May he can find time to train seriously again, with a goal of reaching the 2021 Olympic Trials in the 800 meters. Whatever happens, running has been and will remain a very important part of his life.
"With all that is happening around the world right now, I am extremely grateful for my time on the track and cross country teams at Tufts, and how my wonderful coaches and teammates taught me to appreciate the simple joy of the daily run," he said.
"Running has been my rock these last few years," he continued. "Whenever school or work has threatened to overwhelm, I have turned to running for balance and perspective."
Friends for life
In addition to winning four national championships and the NCAA Byers Scholarship, Black piled up numerous other honors during his Tufts career such as Division III Track/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year in 2016. He was a part of the Jumbo teams that won three straight NESCAC Championships fromm 2013-15. His experiences as a teammate had the greatest impact on him during his four years at Tufts.
"When I reminisce on my time with the team, I don't think about the races, the results, or the competition," he said. "I remember my friends and teammates, and how we grew together. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, the Tufts track and cross country community was my village. And I wouldn't have had it any other way."
Written by Paul Sweeney, Director of Athletic Communications
Watch the Jumbotron feature on Mitchell Black from February 2016 ...
Read the GoTuftsJumbos.com feature on Mitchell Black from March 2016 ...
