Chair

Alex Straub

Alex is an Air Force 1st Lieutenant at Eglin Air Force Base working as a stability and control engineer with the Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office.  Alex graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2018 with a B.S. in Astronautical Engineering and from MIT in 2020 with an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics.  She has been involved in leadership positions at all levels and is currently supporting her local Northwest Florida AIAA chapter. Outside of work she enjoys hiking, golf, and supporting her Pittsburgh sports teams in her free time

Internal Vice Chair

Sabrina Khan

Sabrina is a graduating senior at MIT studying aerospace engineering and planetary science with a minor in science, technology and society. She is a strong advocate for women and minorities, and has held several leadership positions dedicated to strengthening her communities in and out of school. Sabrina has been involved in the MIT WoAA chapter, Women in Aerospace Engineering, since her freshman year. Upon the completion of her undergraduate degree, she will be pursuing a Ph.D. in planetary geology.

External Vice Chair

Julia Di

Julia is a graduate student at Stanford University, where she works on biomimetic robotics. She graduated in 2018 from Columbia University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, where she was heavily involved in building student communities.

Secretary

Rosemary Davidson

Rosemary is a Ph.D. student at MIT, working on space telescope concepts in the Space Systems Laboratory. She completed her undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she was involved with their WoAA chapter and the formation of an international WoAA network under AIAA.  

Expansion Subcommittee Chair

Harshini Sivakumar

Harshini is an undergraduate senior at Georgia Tech studying Aerospace Engineering. She is interested in aeronautics, primarily in aircraft performance, and hopes to work in a business and engineering blended role. She is very active in her community and extremely passionate about empowering minorities in STEM and aerospace. Outside of work, she enjoys watching TV and movies, cooking and baking, and traveling. 

Technical Development Chair

Matt Marcus

Matt is a Space Systems and Robotics Engineer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.  He recently completed his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering with a concentration in space systems at the University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on orbital debris removal and early-concept spacecraft design.  Matt has also conducted several academic mission design studies, focusing primarily on small bodies missions for planetary science and planetary defense.  Matt has been involved in UMD's Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics organization since 2017, as well as WoAA since the group's incorporation in early 2019.  

Professional Development Chair

Annika Rollock

After graduating from MIT in 2018 with a degree in aerospace engineering, Annika is now pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in the bioastronautics focus. Her work focuses on the design of self-aware and self-sufficient deep space habitats. She has also done work on hypersonics and dynamic analysis for entry, descent, and landing capabilities. In her free time, she loves to run, cycle, hike, read, and write fiction.

Member Advancement Co-Chair

Sarah Melissa Gomez

Sarah is a graduating senior at San Diego State University studying mechanical engineering. She co-founded the WoAA chapter at SDSU and leads an underwater robotics university team. Her work experience includes spacecraft mechanism design, systems engineering, and project management. Outside of work, she likes to paint, hike, and play video games.

Diversity and Inclusion Co-chair 

Abby Feeder

Abby is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Alabama double majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. On campus, Abby is the president of Alabama's local AIAA Student Branch and Secretary of the local WoAA Chapter. She believes that her combined work with both of these organizations can make a positive impact on the student culture within the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. Abby is also involved in her school rocketry team and is currently the team lead for the aerostructures subsystem of the group's first-generation liquid rocket, Project ARES. She has previous internship experience at Collins Aerospace and Lockheed Martin working on mechanical design for products and structures. Upon graduation in May, Abby is planning to pursue a Masters in Aerospace Engineering focused on space systems design and development. In her free time, Abby enjoys swimming, reading, and watching her favorite football teams: the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Denver Broncos. 

Diversity and Inclusion Co-Chair

Kaylin Borders

Kaylin is a junior at San Diego State University majoring in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. She is originally from the Washington D.C. area but spends most of her time on the West Coast for her studies. At school, she is the president and liaison for the local WoAA chapter and involved with student organizations like Women in Science Society and National Society of Black Engineers. She also holds a position on the Department of Aerospace Engineering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. Kaylin is also a Supplemental Instruction Leader for the Principle of Physics course where she leads two peer-assisted learning sessions collaborative and integrate course content and study skills with information gathered from attending all of the class lectures to help students engage in active learning. For the past three years she has held an internship at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory working on wireless power beaming applications. After completing her bachelors, Kaylin is planning to pursue a Phd in Aerospace Engineering. When not doing these things you can find Kaylin sipping on an Iced Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks, reading, jamming out to Ariana Grande, or out stargazing with her telescope.

Diversity and Inclusion Co-chair

Rikhi (Rukmini) Roy

Rikhi is a Masters Student at the Aerospace Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), majoring in Aerospace Systems Engineering. She is passionate about systems safety, advocating for diversity and inclusion, and the well-being of women in STEM. As a budding Systems Safety Engineer in the Aerospace Industry, she is open to internship opportunities with an emphasis on safety, certification, requirements analysis, or project management. She aspires to make a positive change in aircraft safety through interdisciplinary engineering, collaboration with customers, and space-based solutions. As a third culture kid, she enjoys interviewing women in STEM, and reflecting on productivity, and mindfulness on her blog . Through her writing, she aims to strike a balance between the demands of the mind, body, and soul to show up authentically in her endeavors across the Aerospace Industry - as a Systems Engineer, Brooke Owens Fellow, WoAA D&I Chair, AIAA Scholar, and SheLAEDs conference Founder.
 

Professional & Industry Chair

Laura Zaidenberg

Laura is an undergraduate student in her senior year of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan. On campus, she is a part of the Michigan chapter of Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics and is an Aerodynamics Lead on M-Fly DBF. In previous summers, she has had the opportunity to work in particle physics, magnetic confinement fusion, and systems engineering. After graduation this year, she plans on pursuing a Masters in Space Engineering at UofM. In her time off, Laura enjoys swimming, doodling, and baking burnt cookies.

Website Sponsor

Avatar Technologies

We are grateful to Avatar Technologies for sponsoring our website and helping WOAA further its movement of increasing diversity in the Aerospace Industry. Avatar Technologies is an Aerospace engineering services and consultancy firm based in Maryland. Learn more about our sponsor here!