• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2024

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aerospace Engineering, ‘25

• Host Institution: SpaceX

• Mentor: Rob Meyerson

• Brookie Mentor: Claire Buffington

Navya is a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign majoring in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in the Hoeft Technology and Management Program. She discovered her passion for space exploration at a very young age through books, documentaries, and science exhibits which led to her pursuing a career in the space industry.

While on campus, Navya has found several ways to get involved with student organizations. Navya currently leads the Spaceshot technical project, which is the interdisciplinary rocketry team of the UIUC SEDS chapter. She works with 7 subteams in designing a two-stage rocket to reach space. She was thrilled to launch the team’s first two-stage rocket and looks forward to launching their high-altitude rocket at a competition this upcoming summer.

Navya also previously led the recovery systems team on the Spaceshot project. Outside of building rockets, she has served as the Internal Vice President of the UIUC Women in Aerospace chapter, tutored for the Grainger College of Engineering, and taught an aerospace new student orientation course.

In her free time, Navya loves reading fiction, watching a variety of tv shows, going on hikes, and trying local coffee shops! She also enjoys making art in different mediums.

Last summer, Navya was an Engineering Intern at Inversion Space in Los Angeles, CA, where she gained experience in the aerospace industry and learned more about structural engineering and engineering design. She is honored to be named a Brooke Owens Fellow and can’t wait to get started on the SpaceX Starlink Space Lasers team in Redmond, WA this upcoming summer!