Michelle is a junior studying Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics. She has an interest in Bioastronautics, and started her research working with Dr. Anderson on alternative reality technologies for the evaluation of spacecraft habitat designs. Over the last semester, she was pursuing an independent research question in the realm of habitat design and space architecture, and is now transitioning to NASA’s Habitats Optimized for Missions of Exploration (HOME) Project. As a fierce advocate for women empowerment in engineering, Michelle founded the CU Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which fosters a supportive community through career development. In recognition of her research and her contributions to the community, Michelle was honored as one of AIAA’s 20 Twenties. Scholarship Professionally, she has worked at SpaceX in the summer of 2019 as a Brooke Owens Fellow, in the Crew Dragon Mechanisms team. In the three months there, she supported three missions, including Crew-1, which is aiming to be the first official crewed launch from American soil since the Shuttle era. This summer, she will be working in Advanced Development Projects at Blue Origin in Kent, WA as a Matthew Isakowitz Fellow. Outside of school, Michelle loves to travel, play tennis, and be in the ocean. She has been to 15 countries spanning three continents, and plans to add many more to the list.