Annalise Cabra 
(she/her)

  • Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2025

  • University of Colorado Boulder, Physics, ‘25

  • Host Institution: HawkEye 360

  • Mentor: TBD

  • Brookie Mentor: TBD

Annalise “Anna” Cabra is a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, majoring in Physics with an Astrophysics concentration and minoring in Mathematics. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering with a focus on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and dust mitigation. Her ultimate goal is to help overcome the challenges of the lunar environment to advance human and space exploration.

At CU’s IMPACT lab (Institute for Modeling Plasma, Atmospheres, and Cosmic Dust), Anna conducts experimental research on planetary dust charging dynamics when exposed to solar wind plasma. Her work also focuses on developing methods for charging and separating regolith by size for ISRU applications. Additionally, Anna is a spacecraft navigation software intern at CU’s ORCCA lab (Orbital Research Cluster for Celestial Applications), where she develops, verifies, and validates code for an orbit determination framework supporting the United Arab Emirates asteroid mission. Her previous experience includes contributions to NASA’s Lucy and TSIS-1 Missions, where she worked in science operations and data systems.

Anna is also passionate about STEM outreach and expanding opportunities for women and minorities, aiming to inspire others to pursue careers in the field and contribute to scientific advancement. At CU, she has served as Vice President and Treasurer of CU Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics (WoAA) and co-founded CU Women of Quantum through the Quantum Scholars program. Before college, she traveled to Mexico to teach about the solar system to local students with limited resources and later became a CU Science Discovery mentor, leading an after-school program that integrated math and art activities for elementary students.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Anna enjoys attending CU football games, traveling, going to concerts, working out, and spending time with friends. As a 2025 Brooke Owens Fellow, she is thrilled to expand her industry experience as a flight dynamics intern at HawkEye 360!