• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2022

• Columbia University, Mechanical Engineering, ‘23

• Host Institution: Relativity Space

• Executive Mentor: Tracy Drain

• Brookie Mentor: Surya Vohra

Nikita Manjuluri is pursuing a Mechanical Engineering major and Economics minor at Columbia University. She’s originally from Centreville, Virginia, outside of Washington, DC.

During summer of 2021, Nikita interned at Made In Space in Jacksonville, Florida as a Zed Factor Fellow. Through the internship, she was able to use CAD and 3D printing to model test fixtures and mock payloads in order to aid in the company’s in-space additive manufacturing efforts. On campus, she is involved in the Columbia Space Initiative rocketry team, helping with airframe design and manufacturing.

Outside of her aerospace endeavors, Nikita is the Program Manager for the Engineers Without Borders Morocco program, which aims to create a sustainable water distribution system for a community in rural Morocco. She also works in the Robotic Manipulation and Mobility Lab, iterating and implementing underactuated tendon-driven robotic hand designs.

Nikita first developed an interest in space and engineering through Virginia Space Grant Consortium programs in high school, Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars and Virginia Space Coast Scholars. Through these academies, she got the rewarding opportunity to work at NASA Langley and Wallops along with other high school students to create a mission and present it to a panel of scientists.

Nikita loves to leave campus and explore New York City’s museums and restaurants whenever possible. She also enjoys playing tennis and taking bike rides through the city.

As a 2022 Brooke Owens Fellow, Nikita is looking forward to her internship at Relativity Space in Long Beach, California.