March 6, 2025
2025 Kathe & Gary Vergason Scholarship Honoring Michael Andreasen awarded to Isaiah Voges, University of Minnesota
Congratulations to Isaiah Voges – recipient of the 2025 Kathe and Gary Vergason Scholarship Honoring Michael Andreasen from the SVC Foundation. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Isaiah has been fortunate to take classes at Normandale Community College, where he explores rough/high vacuum systems and thin film technology. Isaiah says, “Being that this is one of the only programs in the country, I get top experience with learning background information and operating vacuum systems before leaving school. I learn about vacuum system components such as gauges, pumps, and flanges. I just learned about the properties of vacuum coatings and the necessities of deposition.”
Isaiah continues, “This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern for LIGO – Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, which is run by Caltech. I spent time at the Washington State Observatory and their research/ upgrade facility at Caltech in California. I reinforced the knowledge I had been learning at Normandale with real hands-on experience with various vacuum-related technologies. I worked with the LIGO vacuum team on how to improve and operate the world’s second-largest vacuum system.”
Isaiah writes to Kathe and Gary Vergason, “I want to express my gratitude to you for being the donors for the scholarship honoring Michael Andreasen. I am grateful to be a beneficiary of the scholarship this year. This scholarship will help me cover the Normandale college fees where I take the incredibly valuable courses not offered at this level anywhere else in the country to the point that students zoom in to take the classes virtually. The skills I learn here I know I will continue to use in my professional life. Thank you for supporting future and current vacuum students like me.”
