ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Midshipman 1st Class (senior) Lillian Ngo Usadi, 21, of Basking Ridge, N.J., was recently selected as the Naval Academy’s 53rd Rhodes Scholar. Over 950 applicants were endorsed by 288 schools for one of the 32 scholarships awarded this year.
Usadi is an electrical engineering major at the U.S. Naval Academy where she is a Bowman Scholar and one of sixteen Trident Scholars in the Class of 2021, conducting research in electrical engineering and physics focused on the manipulation of microbots using acoustics.
This past summer, she served as the 2nd Company Commander, training incoming plebes amidst the COVID-19 environment. During her time as a midshipman, Usadi also interned at Naval Special Warfare Development Group and Sandia National Laboratories where she modeled the performance of molten salt thermal batteries. She early-selected submarines as the service community she will enter in the fleet upon graduation and commissioning.
Outside of her academic and military commitments, Usadi serves as president of the USNA Jewish Midshipmen Club, concertmaster of the Naval Academy Symphony Orchestra, pianist for the Trident Brass Jazz and Swing Band, and a member of the Vietnamese Midshipmen Club. She is also the associate chairman of the annual Naval Academy Science and Engineering Conference.
Usadi is a 2017 graduate of Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, N. J., and she plans to pursue a Master of Science in energy systems at Oxford University. Her long term career goals include her pursuit of the advancement of naval science and technology through her work in the submarine community.
Rhodes Scholarships provide up to three years of study at the University of Oxford in England. Rhodes Scholars are chosen based on high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor. The value of the Rhodes Scholarship varies depending on the academic field, the degree pursued, and the college chosen at Oxford. The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, and transportation to and from England.
Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy today is a prestigious four-year service academy that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally and physically to be professional officers in the naval service. More than 4,400 men and women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries make up the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen. U.S. News and World Reports has recognized the Naval Academy as a top five undergraduate engineering school and a top 20 best liberal arts college. Midshipmen learn from military and civilian instructors and participate in intercollegiate varsity sports and extracurricular activities. They also study subjects such as leadership, ethics, small arms, drill, seamanship and navigation, tactics, naval engineering and weapons, cyber security, and military law. Upon graduation, midshipmen earn a Bachelor of Science degree in a choice of 25 different subject majors and go on to serve at least five years of exciting and rewarding service as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps.
For more information on the Rhodes Scholars, visit http://www.rhodesscholar.org;
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