• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2026

• Purdue University, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, ‘27

• Mentor: TBD

• Brookie Mentor: TBD

Simone is a senior at Purdue University majoring in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, with minors in Plant Biology and Chemistry. She is excited to join the Space Systems sector of the Aerospace Industries Association and the Brooke Owens community this summer.

She is a NASA Pathways Intern at Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC), where she has supported flight testing, technology integration, and the advancement of the X-59 low-boom flight demonstration. Her most recent rotation had her working primarily with the F/A-18, TG-14, and T-34 research and support fleet.

At Purdue, Simone enjoys supporting multidisciplinary research in sustainable aviation, Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), and scalable technology development for space and Earth. As a Purdue Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Intern, she conducted testing and optimization on the upcycling of cellulosic biomass into sustainable aviation fuel. Currently, she is developing Mycoponics, a platform for nutrition, biomaterials, and drug manufacturing that is applicable for ECLSS in space and increasing pharmaceutical accessibility on Earth. Her research into Mycoponics has been conducted through the Purdue Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and is currently funded through the Indiana Space Grant Consortium.  Her research posters have won awards at national and international competitions and she has recently published on Mycoponics in Biotechnology Journal.

She is a private pilot and enjoys getting K-12 students excited about aviation and space. One of her primary goals is to emphasize that the aerospace sector should serve the people, and she wants to ensure that younger students feel that aerospace is accessible to them and to see that there are many pathways to entering the field. 

A born and raised Oregonian, Simone is an avid hiker and has spent extensive time exploring nature. She enjoys summiting, rock climbing, and hopes to one day thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Other hobbies include landscaping, gardening, woodworking, reading, and playing Dungeons & Dragons.