• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2026

• Georgia Institute of Technology, Aerospace Engineering, ‘27

• Mentor: TBD

• Brookie Mentor: TBD

Saragha Surendra is a junior studying aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. Her passion for aerospace started in third grade with a paper airplane competition at the National Air and Space Museum near her hometown in Maryland.

Saragha conducts research with the Space Systems Optimization Group under Dr. Koki Ho where she is currently working on finding the most optimal way to move satellites between different orbits. She previously worked on building a test stand for an ammonia combustor at the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab and modeling systems at the Aerospace Systems Design Lab.

On campus, she is the Programming and Outreach officer at the Aero Makerspace where she helps students with projects and plans events to expose more students to tools such as woodworking and 3D printing. Additionally, she wrote the state of Georgia Science Olympiad experimental design exams to expose more high schoolers to STEM topics. Saragha advocates for other aerospace engineering students as a member of the School of Aerospace Engineering Student Advisory Council (SAESAC). She was also a member of the Yellow Jacket Space Program (YJSP) on the flight dynamics sub-team where she wrote simulations for a rocket.

Previously, Saragha interned at The Aerospace Corporation in Chantilly, VA on the Mission Engineering and Systems Architecture team. Her projects here fueled her interests in systems engineering and satellite constellation design. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, reading, and bullet journaling.

This summer Saragha is excited to intern with Blue Origin as an Aerospace Systems Engineering Intern in Renton, WA. As a part of the Brooke Owens Fellowship, she hopes to serve as a role model to other women and build a stronger community between gender minorities in the field of aerospace.