Briana Chen

2024 Astronaut Scholar

Hometown

Carmel, IN

Major

Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering; Applied Physics Honors

College

College of Engineering; College of Science; John Martinson Honors College

 

Briana Chen was awarded the Astronaut Scholarship for her promising research in physics with specialization in astronomy and astrophysics.  Even as she became one of four 2024 Goldwater Nominees in late January, Briana continued to pursue her vision of becoming a leading research scientist in her field and applied to the Astronaut Scholarship in mid-February.  Reflecting on the investment in her professional development that began more than a decade earlier, Briana points to a kitchen table, where she and her father made dumplings while discussing the topology in a fold. As an undergraduate she has pursued research experience at Purdue as well as summer internships at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the California Institute of Technology.

 

Whether she is at work subtracting background stars from a supernovae remnant or repairing a digital micromirror device, Briana stands out for her perseverance in problem solving, a curiosity that extends to every detail of the research, and her model of a self-guided researcher who creates community among scientists in her field. Writing in support of her application, Dan Milisavljevic, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, witnessed Briana’s trajectory from student and undergraduate research assistant to a scientist in her own right.