Kylee Brahma, 23, is one of four women across the country selected for scholarships from the Women in Aerospace Foundation. The fourth-year mechanical engineering student has interned at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California and Johnson Space Center in Texas, and worked with Blue Origin’s Lunar Permanence Division on moon-related initiatives.

Brahma began at UNLV studying biology, but her interest changed after she learned that technology used in spacecraft engines helped inspire medical devices. In the university’s Fluids Innovation Lab, she studied heart pumps used by people with heart failure and learned of their connection to shuttle-engine turbopumps.

The link between aerospace engineering and a device implanted in a patient’s heart surprised her, she said, and helped prompt her to switch majors. Joining a campus rocketry club further drew her toward the field.

Her experience in aerospace also introduced her to more women working in the industry. Brahma said she wants to help make aerospace more accessible in Nevada by bringing more students into the field and supporting new initiatives.

Outside her studies, Brahma serves as prefect of Tripoli Las Vegas, a rocketry group that helps aspiring rocketeers earn certifications to launch high-power rockets. A planned desert launch was called off because of gusty winds. She has also helped launch a weather balloon to collect scientific data and is working with students on UNLV’s Atlas One project, which aims to send a small satellite into space.

UNLV professor in residence Dan Bubb said Atlas One could be a first in Nevada history. He described it as a small rocket project intended to carry out scientific measurements.

Bubb, who has known Brahma since her freshman year, said her scholarship reflects her accomplishments as a student. Brahma said the award will help cover education costs, and she plans to travel to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony with her mother.

Brahma applied for the scholarship in 2025 but was not selected. She tried again after gaining new experience, writing an essay about how to explain aerospace’s importance to someone with little interest in it. She said she drew on her own earlier unfamiliarity with the subject.

She hopes to work in propulsion testing and eventually become a launch director, overseeing rocket launches and missions. Brahma said she wants her achievements to encourage other women to pursue aerospace careers, adding that being a first can help make room for those who follow.