Abigail Lee and Billy Kline named to Aviation Week Network’s 20 Twenties class of 2025

AeroAstro graduate students Abigail Lee (STAR Lab) and Billy Kline (Engineering Systems Lab) have been awarded spots in Aviation Week Network’s 20 Twenties class of 2025 for their outstanding academic performance, community involvement, and significant contributions to their fields of study. 

The 20 Twenties program has garnered over 825 nominations from exceptional aerospace-focused students worldwide since its launch in 2013. Each year, 20 exceptional students named to the cohort are honored at Aviation Week Network’s annual Laureates Awards and Banquet. 

Kline is grateful to his advisor, Prof. Daniel Hastings, and to Aviation Week Network for the honor. “Two of my labmates, Chloe Gentgen and Daniel Gochenaur, have received this award in the past, so it was nice to carry on the tradition for ESL,” he says. His research centers on applying machine learning methods to improve orbit estimation algorithms by predicting the impacts of space weather on satellite trajectories. “The goal of this is to have fewer ‘false positive’ collision warnings – that is to say, we don’t want satellites to have to make collision-avoidance maneuvers when they don’t need to. This enables more predictable satellite operations, making space safer and more sustainable for everyone.”

Lee is also grateful to her advisor for her mentorship and for the nomination. “In my first four months at MIT I’ve been able to learn from my advisor Dr. Kerri Cahoy and begin to contribute to our upcoming flight mission, CLICK. On CLICK I have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge optical communication technologies and build my skills in payload and satellite assembly to make me a better engineer,” Lee says. “I’m proud to be winning alongside Billy, someone who has helped shape my experience here at MIT from the day I got here. I can’t wait to meet the other awardees in D.C and network with influential members of the aerospace community. The awardees all have a few things in common, and one is our desire to contribute to research that will help shape the aerospace industry.”

Lee and Kline join twelve Course 16 alumni named to 20 Twenties cohorts in previous years.