• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2023

• Brown University, Mathematical Physics and Philosophy, ‘23

• Host Institution: Planet

• Mentor: Debbie Senesky

• Brookie Mentor: TBD

Leela Cañuelas is a proud Pittsburgher currently in her senior year at Brown University, where she is concentrating in mathematical physics and philosophy. She has been inspired by the project of space exploration since she was an elementary school student clearing out her school library’s space science collection within a few years of learning how to read, and her interest in the science, technology, and people that make space exploration happen has continued to grow throughout her education. Leela’s high school physics teacher, Mr. Rauhala, further encouraged her passion for aerospace, often staying after class to answer her questions about the physics of flight and spaceflight. Mr. Rauhala also encouraged Leela to keep taking physics classes in college, and his enthusiasm for the subject was so infectious that it was impossible not to take his advice.

In college, Leela has applied what she is learning in her physics classes to mathematically herd swarms of robotic fish as a TREND REU intern, cowrite a successful NASA launch application with her fellow student-engineers at Brown Space Engineering, and help her NASA L’SPACE Academy teammates develop a proposal for an astrobiology mission to a cluster of cave candidates in the north polar region of Mars. As a Brooke Owens Fellow, she is thrilled to be working with the Mission Operations team at Planet Labs. Her professional dream is twofold: she aspires to pay forward the mentorship she has received from the many teachers, professors, coaches, and older students who have encouraged and inspired her, and she aims to make whatever modest contribution she can to human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Outside of her academic work, Leela is an avid strength athlete who loves to start her day under a power rack. When not in class or at the gym, she can be found in the science fiction and poetry sections of her beloved local library, in the kitchen dumping an unreasonable amount of cinnamon into her oatmeal, between a pair of headphones listening to choral music, or out on a long walk under the stars.