• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2022

• Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S. Aerospace Engineering, ‘24

• United States Air Force Academy, B.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering, ‘23

• Host Institution: Hermeus

• Mentor: Chris DeMay

• Brookie Mentor: Kristen Ahner

Second Lieutenant Manmeet Pelia is a United States Air Force (USAF) officer, graduate student, and pilot trainee-select. Growing up as a Sikh-American and military brat instilled a strong, internal sense of service. She knew from a young age that she wanted to intersect her passion for engineering and service to solve real-world problems.

After completing her B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), she started pursuing her M.S. at the Georgia Institute of Technology in aerospace engineering. At the Aerospace Systems Design Lab, her research focuses are in the design/execution of tabletop exercises, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and digital twins to model cargo engine degradation. Upon completion of her graduate degree, she will attend Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma.

Lieutenant Pelia is grateful to the Air Force Academy for allowing her to participate in the Brooke Owens Fellowship and especially to her mentor, Dr. Buddhika Jayamaha. She is also grateful to the academic support she's received at Georgia Tech from Dr. Dimitri Mavris. She would not be the engineer/officer she is without their support and support from many others.

Her career has been marked by several academic and professional development opportunities. At USAFA, she trained as a Ground Station Operator for FalconSAT-8 and operated the Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope on campus. Her undergraduate research explored a variety of academic interests: c-UAS capstone (AY22-23), reaction wheel testing system (Spring 2021), military machine learning implementation (Summer 2020), cyber warfare operations and training (Summer 2020), and research consulting for the Quad Innovation Alliance (Spring 2020). Her greatest privilege at USAFA was serving as the director of USAFA Spark, an AFWERX-designated innovation cell, to empower cadets to actualize operational solutions for the U.S. Air and Space Force. Additionally, she was the principal investigator for an amazing 12-peron team in the L'Space Academy's NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience (Summer 2021). She also participated in IIAS's Advanced PoSSUM Space Academy to train as a citizen scientist-astronaut and explore upper-atmospheric research, bioastronautics, and human space flight operations (2022). For the past two years, she has volunteered as a Solar System Ambassador for NASA JPL, sharing her love for space with her local community. During her Brookie cohort, she had the indelible honor of working as an avionics hardware intern at Hermeus. In the USAF, she is a LEAP scholar and certified professional innovator through Project Mercury. She is also incredibly grateful to be the recipient of the Critical Language Scholarship (2021), Stamps Scholarship (2021-2023), and Quad Fellowship (2023). These programs have fostered her passion in intersecting foreign diplomacy with STEM/aerospace.

Lt. Pelia was the first Brooke Owens Fellow from any service academy, but knows that she won't be the last! She cannot thank the Brookie family enough for supporting her in the best/worst times. The BOF has undeniably changed her life for the better. TA&B!