• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2026

• Purdue University, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering Political Science, ‘28

• Mentor: TBD

• Brookie Mentor: TBD

Lucia Morton is a sophomore at Purdue University pursuing a B.S. in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science. She is motivated by the potential to shape the future of space policy and technology diplomacy through her research and community engagement.

Currently, Lucia is an intern at MIT Lincoln Laboratory with the Structural and Thermal-Fluids Engineering group. Additionally, she is continuing her research with Lawrence Livermore National Lab as a part-time Computational Engineering intern. Her research covers topics in reduced order modeling, continuum and rarefied flow modeling (CFD, DSMC), and machine learning.

Lucia’s research journey began at the NASA Langley Research Center, where she spent her “gap year” as an intern before enrolling at Purdue. At NASA, she studied high-temperature materials and presented her research at several national aerospace conferences and research institutes. Her interest in space policy stems from her exposure to program management and the national R&D budget dialogue during her time as an intern.

At Purdue, Lucia engaged in several undergraduate research projects during her freshman year with groups from the Aerospace Science Lab, Electric Propulsion and Plasma Lab, and Zucrow Labs. In Spring 2024, she discovered her first opportunity to participate in space policy research through a Purdue collaboration with Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. The following semester, she joined the Purdue Policy Research Institute’s Space Diplomacy Lab to continue contributing to the study of legal strategies for space governance.

Motivated by a similar mission, she also interned part-time with the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy to support its mission of advancing trusted tech. Additionally, her involvement with programs such as Boilers Go to D.C. and the Innovation in Public Service Certificate fostered her long-standing appreciation for science communication.

Outside of research, Lucia is deeply passionate about STEM outreach/education and has volunteered for several youth programs in her community. She is also a published children’s book author and illustrator, a national parks fanatic, and a proud member of the United States Lighthouse Society. She enjoys sailing, antiquing, public transit, film, live theater, and dancing.