Leonhard (1940) Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and principal investigator of DINaMo. “The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a prestigious honor to receive, and after working with Akila for the past two years, it’s incredibly well-deserved,” says Hamsa Balakrishnan, William E. Her project focuses on developing an autonomous and reactive continuous data collection system deployed on fleets of drones, focused on making decisions about optimal sampling locations in a large grid while accounting for resource constraints to coordinate multi-vehicle flight. I think the coolest part of this will be to see my work being used on upcoming missions.”Ĭurrently, Saravanan is working through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in the Dynamics, Infrastructure Networks, and Mobility (DINaMo) Research Group. “To me, one of the most interesting aspects of commercial aerospace is how it operates on a much shorter time-scale compared to academic research, due to the speed of putting ideas into production. “I’m looking forward to exploring commercial research, which will expose me to a different side of research and allow me to work on new and exciting projects,” says Saravanan. The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a nonprofit program that aims to increase access and opportunities for undergraduate women and other gender minorities by connecting them with internships, mentors in the field, and other networking opportunities to help alleviate the gender imbalance that has been prevalent historically in the aerospace industry. I believe the bonds I’ll make through this experience will last beyond just the summer, and I’m excited to be a part of it.” “The internship itself will be a great experience, but I think the biggest benefit is the network it will provide me within the aerospace community. “I’m honored to receive this fellowship and excited for the opportunities it will open up for me in my career,” says Saravanan. As part of her fellowship, Saravanan will be working at Venturi Astrolab in Hawthorne, California this summer. Saravanan is among 51 women selected from a competitive pool of thousands of applicants this year. “Brookies” are selected based on their commitment to their communities, stand-out creative abilities, record of leadership, incredible talent, and their desire to pursue a career in aerospace.
Akila Saravanan, an MIT junior double majoring in aerospace engineering and electrical engineering and computer science, is a recipient of the Brooke Owens Fellowship.
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