Three aerospace students honored with Matthew Isakowitz Fellowships
Three °µÍø½ûÇø aerospace students have been selected as members of the 2020
The initiative provides summer internships and executive mentorship to inspire the next generation of commercial spaceflight leaders. The CU Boulder fellows are:
- Megan Jones, aerospace junior (Research Advisor: Jay McMahon)
- Alex Liem, aerospace master's student (Advisor: Jim Nabity)
- Michelle Lin, aerospace and applied math junior (Research Advisors: Allison Anderson and David Klaus)
Now in its third year, the highly-selective program awards exceptional college juniors, seniors, and graduate students pursuing aerospace careers with paid internships at cutting-edge commercial space companies. Fellows also receive one-on-one mentorship from accomplished members of the space community, including astronauts, engineers, entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and others.
The program culminates in a memorable two-day summit in Los Angeles during which the Fellows will network with top leaders in the industry, visit space start-ups, and develop entrepreneurial skills.
Megan Jones is a third-year Aerospace Engineering undergraduate student at CU Boulder. She’s always been fascinated by deep space exploration and the scientific discoveries it's enabled, all of which was heightened after her summer internship at NASA JPL. In addition, she’s very interested in the applications of space technology to assist in sustainable development goals, environmental monitoring, and increased global connectivity. On campus, she’s involved with Engineers Without Borders and works on drone surveying to create 3D maps of project sites in Nepal. Also, she is a research assistant at CU’s ORCCA lab and has helped construct a drone-asteroid test bed to validate spacecraft algorithms. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, traveling, drawing, hanging out with her dog Rhino, and wondering if there are space whales in Europa’s ocean. She’s looking forward to getting exposure to the commercial space industry and is very excited to be a part of the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship!
Alex Liem received his Bachelor's Degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the student-run Electric Vehicle Team and worked at SpaceX as part of his degree. Most recently, he completed an internship at the Aerospace Corporation and is currently pursuing a MS in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder with a focus on Bioastronautics. Alex is passionate about human spaceflight, and, after getting his degree, hopes to return to the space industry to help create new destinations in space (and the means to get there). In his free time, Alex enjoys exploring the outdoors and eating good food.
Michelle is a junior pursuing a double degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics at CU Boulder. As a fierce advocate for underrepresented students in STEM, she is the Founder and President of the , and was the Keynote Speaker at SWE’s WE Local conference. She loves traveling, fashion, and being in the ocean. As someone who is keen to try new things, she recently competed in the Miss Colorado USA pageant. Professionally, Michelle has worked at SpaceX as a 2019 Brooke Owens Fellow. Her research is in bioastronautics and habitat design, and she hopes to have a hand in designing the first habitats on Mars. As a Matthew Isakowitz Fellow, Michelle is excited to join the Advanced Development Program at Blue Origin in Kent, WA.