Orbiting Opportunities
By: Sharita Hanley | Categories: Alumni Celebrations, Alumni Interest, Featured Stories
These recent graduates are using real-world experience to research and solve complex challenges in the space and aviation industries. Graduating from Georgia Tech is a remarkable achievement, and these Yellow Jackets have taken their talents to new heights. Through their journeys at Tech, they’ve gained a foundation for a career in the space and aviation industries, tackled problems, and pushed the boundaries of innovation.
Ishani Peddi, ECON 25, Minor in Aerospace Engineering
“Whether people realize it or not, space touches every part of our lives,” Ishani Peddi, Econ 25, says. That’s one of the reasons why she minored in aerospace engineering. “It gave me the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on various sectors and communities.”
As a 2023 Brooke Owens Fellow, Peddi worked as a Strategic Operations Intern at Ball Aerospace (now BAE Systems) in Washington, D.C., where she tackled real-world space sustainability challenges, crafted strategy for wildfire detection satellites, and briefed leadership using materials she prepared for Congressional hearings.
In 2024, as a Federal Jackets Fellow, Peddi joined NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce and led deliverables on international coordination for space traffic management. This summer, she interned at the Center for Strategic and International Studies with the Aerospace Security Project, where she investigated China’s commercial space manufacturing capabilities, crafted insightful speaker questions, and attended space investment summits—all while contributing to international policy research as a Matthew Isakowitz Commercial Space Scholar. In the fall, Peddi is returning to Tech as a graduate student to pursue a master’s in International Affairs, Science, and Technology.
Q: If you could visit any celestial body, where would you go and why?
"Venus. Despite being Earth's 'sister planet,' the atmosphere of Venus presents clouds of sulfuric gas and deadly heat. I'd like to further understand how technologies can be developed to withstand these conditions and perhaps even allow humans to set foot there one day."
Calvin Tomsic, AE 25
“I became interested in aerospace engineering in my high school physics class after we learned about orbital mechanics,” Calvin Tomsic, AE 25, says. “At Tech, I became fascinated with aircraft and fluid mechanics. Fluid mechanics is everywhere in daily life, and yet there is still a lot to discover.”
Tomsic deepened his passion through Tech’s combined Aerospace BS/MS honors program, where he explored the complexities of fluid mechanics—a field he found both omnipresent and full of unanswered questions.
During his time at Georgia Tech, Tomsic’s most impactful experience came through the Department of Defense’s SMART Scholarship program. There, he worked directly with warfighters to improve the defense systems they depend on, blending technical expertise with mission-critical applications.
The BS/MS program also gave Tomsic the opportunity to collaborate closely with a faculty advisor as an undergraduate, a mentorship that shaped his academic and professional trajectory. “A graduate degree has become an implicit requirement for many upper-tier aerospace engineering jobs, so once I identified that this program aligned with my career goals, I knew that having the right faculty advisor would enhance my experience.”
Q: If you could visit any celestial body, where would you go?
“I’d visit Europa. Having humans on the ground to collect data and samples would be invaluable. Seeing Jupiter in the sky from its moon would be surreal."
