SHELBY COURREGES 
(she/her)

  • Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2023

  • Texas Tech University, Astrophysics, ‘24

  • Host Institution: Applied Physics Laboratory

  • Mentor: Nicola Fox

  • Brookie Mentor: TBD

Shelby is currently a third-year student pursuing a degree in physics with an astrophysics concentration and a minor in mathematics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She is originally from Mount Pleasant, Texas, and spent most of her childhood on a ranch with a menagerie of animals. Growing up in rural east Texas, no other activity compared to watching the night sky. Ever since she was a kid, she has always been fascinated with space. Especially the aspect that even though we encounter and visualize space every day, there is still so little that we know about it.

Shelby helps strengthen her love of space by exploring different astrophysics research fields and by conducting her own undergraduate research over infrared observations of ultracompact accreting white dwarf binaries. At Texas Tech University, Shelby serves as vice president and secretary for Women in Physics. The mission of the organization is to improve the retention of women in physics and other STEM fields by providing opportunities for professional development through community building and mentoring.

Shelby balances her love of science with her love of the arts. One of her favorite things is to create. She has tried creative activities ranging from her personal favorite of painting portraits to screen printing t-shirts with her own graphic designs to now knitting sweaters. As a young adult, Shelby realizes that her passion for art can help inform the work she does in the space industry by taking advantage of creative spaces that are not commonly used. In her free time, Shelby will mostly likely be found doing something creative, reading, or hanging out with her dog, Suki.

As a Brooke Owens Fellow, Shelby is looking forward to spending her summer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland where she will be working with the APL’s planetary exploration group.