• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2022

• University of Bristol, Aerospace Engineering, ‘23

• Host Institution: Joby Aviation

• Executive Mentor: Ellen Stofan

• Brookie Mentor: Carson Brumley

Susana is a third-year aerospace engineering student at the University of Bristol in the UK. She is originally from Madrid, Spain, but relocated with her family to the United Arab Emirates at a young age. The challenge of being in a foreign environment led to her fascination with languages, first learning English, and later becoming a student of French, German and Arabic.

Susana is passionate about the application of the aerospace sector to climate and sustainability-oriented initiatives. This was reinforced while she undertook the Bristol Sustainable Futures course, contributing to her attainment of the Bristol Plus Award at university. As a result of the recent volcanic eruptions in La Palma, Spain, she was inspired to focus her current academic research project on UAV aerial capacity modelling for topographical monitoring during eruption emergencies.

During 2020/2021, she was secretary and equality officer of the Bristol SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) society, while operating as systems engineer and project manager in a team for the national Olympus Rover Trials. For 2021/2022, Susana is the president of Bristol SEDS, a role in which she aims to expand the society’s outreach and increase the opportunities for its members. As a marketing volunteer for UKSEDS, she has developed a great interest in scientific communication. She focuses on the organisation’s social media platforms, producing content to communicate with its audience of students, space professionals, and companies. Currently, she is the marketing co-lead of the UKSEDS 2022 National Student Space Conference.

Yet above all, Susana likes to advocate for interdisciplinary interests within the STEM community. Her love for languages led to her current work as a Global Lounge Ambassador in university, supporting multi-cultural activities on campus. As a facilitator for its Conversation Cafe, she helps international engineering students in their journey to become more confident in their English language skills. She also is extremely passionate about art and film. In 2018, she was a public relations volunteer for Art Dubai, and additionally produced her 2018 award-winning short film ‘Origin’.

As a 2022 Brooke Owens Fellow, she is thrilled to start working with Joby Aviation over the summer.