Aspen McKee, a junior at Montana State University majoring in astrophysics, was named one of 26 recipients in the United States of the Brooke Owens Fellowship for 2026, according to an April 9 announcement from the university.
The fellowship is intended to support talented female and gender minority students who are underrepresented in the aerospace industry. It offers programming, mentoring, and access to opportunities designed to help launch careers in this field.
McKee said she did not expect to be selected. “I absolutely did not think I had a shot,” McKee said. She added that she felt like she was competing against very strong applicants. After starting her studies in mechanical engineering and later switching to astrophysics, McKee pursued several opportunities related to space science at Montana State University. She completed two internships with the Montana Space Grant Consortium and participated as both an intern and student in its BOREALIS stratospheric ballooning program.
She has also begun research with Regents Professor Neil Cornish at MSU’s eXtreme Gravity Institute on gravitational waves—ripples in space-time created by cosmic events such as black hole mergers or neutron star collisions—and is considering graduate study on this topic. This summer, McKee will work remotely for a.i. solutions, a Maryland-based company providing engineering services for space missions; this internship was arranged through the fellowship program.
Angela Des Jardins, director of the Montana Space Grant Consortium and associate research professor of physics, praised McKee’s efforts: “Aspen is a great example of the success that can result from having a passion and being motivated to succeed,” Des Jardins said. “She credits Montana Space Grant with helping her achieve her dreams, and we are so proud of all she’s accomplished.”
Montana State University leads research funding statewide with annual expenditures exceeding $288 million according to its official website. The university enrolls about 17,165 students evenly split between residents and nonresidents according to its official website. It ranks among the top five percent of global universities per the Center for World University Rankings according to its official website.
MSU operates as Montana’s land-grant institution focused on research, education, community outreach addressing key challenges according to its official website, while also contributing through volunteerism and environmental initiatives according to its official website. The university provides access to outdoor recreation amid vast wilderness areas while offering extensive academic programs and public service contributions according to its official website.