“You cannot get to the moon unless you do your math.”

So said Alfred Worden, chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, retired astronaut and University alum, as he awarded LSA senior David Montague a $10,000 scholarship yesterday.

Montague, a mathematics major with a 4.0 GPA, was chosen partially because of his research in prime number theory. As Worden presented the award in East Hall, he emphasized the importance of mathematics as the underlying basis for everything in the space program and in other career areas.

The foundation — a non-profit established in 1984 — has awarded $3 million in scholarship money to date. Since 2007, $40,000 of this total has been awarded to the University.

The ASF aims to maintain the United States’s strong position as a leader in science and technology by encouraging students with a strong interest in the field. The scholarship, which was awarded to 20 recipients nationwide this year, is the largest offered for science and engineering undergraduate students based solely on merit.

After receiving the scholarship, Montague thanked his professors and the ASF for the award. He said he was overjoyed that Worden had come to personally deliver the grant.

“I know math isn’t necessarily the most exciting field, especially compared to a space launch from earth,” he said. “But I’ll try to live up to your expectations in whatever way that I can.”

In an interview after the presentation, Montague, who says he plans to enter academia, said he will most likely use the scholarship money to help pay for graduate school.

After the scholarship presentation, Worden detailed his experiences aboard Apollo 15, in which he logged nearly 300 days in space, and showed photographs from the flight.

Thirty-nine years ago, at age 39, Worden traveled aboard Apollo 15 with David Scott and James B. Irwin — also both University alumni.

“We are all Michigan graduates and that’s the thing we are most proud of,” he said. “Those of you who watch the football games on television instead of going to the Big House will see us at all of the games.”

Worden also told the audience about the preparation for the flight, which involved simulations of the launch. After detailing the morning of the launch, he played the 9:34 a.m. launch tape, allowing audience members to listen firsthand to the experience.

Worden said he wouldn’t have been able to reach the moon without his University education.

“You don’t need an education to drive a car or a plane,” he said. “But you need one for spacecrafts. We don’t just fly machines so it takes a lot of time and effort and a good education.”

After the presentation, Worden said in an interview that he didn’t always know he wanted to be an astronaut. He said he originally planned to be a test pilot and applied to the astronaut program essentially on a whim.

“I just tried to do what I could to get as far as I could in my own profession,” he said. “And what I found was that if you work hard in your field, and if you do well, lots of doors will open.”

Worden said that what he remembered most during his time at the University was the intense level of coursework.

“Friday night to Sunday afternoon it was study, study, study,” he said. “I spent every weekend studying because I always had so much catching up to do.”

Worden offered a few words of advice for students.

“It sounds trite but it’s the truth that you get what you deserve out of life,” he said. “The harder you work to achieve something, the better off you’re going to be once you get there.”

A strong education is the most important part of securing a successful future, he added.

“Don’t be satisfied with a lazy education,” he said. “Go out there and get it.”

— Jeff Waraniak contributed to this report.