Kelly Behlen Named 2026 Brooke Owens Fellow

Kelly Behlen, a junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has been selected as a member of the 2026 class of Brooke Owens Fellows, a nationally recognized nonprofit program supporting exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities pursuing careers in aerospace.

Behlen is one of 28 students selected for the Fellowship’s tenth class from more than 400 applicants nationwide. Fellows were chosen through a competitive process that included technical and creative submissions, interviews with program leadership and alumni, and reviews from aerospace industry partners. Selection is based on talent, leadership, commitment to community, and dedication to careers in aviation and space.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship provides each Fellow with a paid aerospace internship, pairing with an executive-level industry mentor and a Brooke Owens alum mentor, and access to a lifelong professional network of more than 350 alumni. The 2026 class will also gather this summer for the annual Brooke Owens Summit.

The Fellowship was founded in 2016 to honor D. Brooke Owens, an accomplished pilot and aerospace leader, and to address the gender imbalance in the aerospace industry. 

For Behlen, the Fellowship carries both personal and professional significance. “Brooke Owens started with nothing and became a legend in her own right. Her day job was as an engineer, but she was known for her kind heart, her selflessness, determination, and adventurous nature. I am distinctly honored to be able to help carry forward her legacy."

Behlen’s path to selection was marked by persistence. "This Fellowship has, and will continue to, open doors for me as I move forward in my engineering career. Being recognized for my work in clubs, leadership roles, presentations, speaking roles, and service—not just for my GPA—has made a lot of the late nights and crunch times feel worthwhile."

This summer, Behlen will intern with Aerospace Fabrication & Materials, a Minnesota-based company that provides passive thermal control systems for projects including NASA’s International Space Station and Blue Origin’s Mk. I Lunar Lander. As an engineering intern, she will contribute to technical projects aligned with her long-term goal of working on space-based habitats and the infrastructure that enables people to live and work beyond Earth.

Behlen came to mechanical engineering with a clear vision: to work on the physical systems that make space missions possible—the structures, mechanisms, and hardware that must survive and operate in orbit. Before enrolling at the University of Minnesota, she worked with the NASA Minnesota Space Grant Consortium under the mentorship of Dr. Flaten and Dr. Gebre-Egziabher, experiences that helped guide her decision to pursue mechanical engineering at the U.

She has also been deeply involved with the Small Satellite Research Lab, joining even before arriving on campus and continuing her work there today. Through the lab, she contributes to projects that give students hands-on experience designing and building real spacecraft hardware.

Behlen hopes her selection encourages others to pursue similar opportunities.

“For all of the women and gender minorities in engineering: don’t pass up the chance to apply for this fellowship next year—you have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she said.

Students interested in hands-on spacecraft development through the Small Satellite Research Lab are encouraged to contact Behlen at [email protected].

With her selection as a 2026 Brooke Owens Fellow, Behlen joins a national community of emerging aerospace leaders committed to advancing the future of aviation and space.