Aerospace Alum Pearl Uva ’26 Lifts Off—and Lifts Others

Growing up on her parents’ 36-acre flower farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Pearl Uva ’26 learned to drive a tractor at age 12—but planes and flight are what really captured her imagination. Through middle and high school Lego and robotics leagues, she grew increasingly interested in STEM. During her third year of high school, she took an aerospace engineering class, and her academic trajectory was set.

“Going into that aerospace class, flight was a kind of wonder to me. I had no idea how or why it worked, or if I could do it myself. Learning about flight got me interested in the science behind it,” Uva says. “The Clark School was a good fit. Plus, the aerospace department is really fantastic.”

Student holds a balloon payload line that's lifting into the sky

Uva was an active member of the UMD Balloon Payload Program, a highlight of her time as an undergraduate.

A Hands-on Aerospace Education

Uva counts the UMD Balloon Payload Program among the highlights of her time as an aerospace engineering major in the Clark School. In addition to researching under faculty advisor Mary Bowden, Uva served as an outreach coordinator charged with sharing lessons on physics, astronomy, aircraft design, rockets, and more with children at local schools and libraries.

With a special interest in drone flight, she minored in robotics and autonomous systems, and she served as an Aerospace Engineering Research Opportunity Scholar at the Maryland Robotics Center.

Paying her Passion Forward, and Back

The new alum is currently job hunting while she is registered to be a substitute teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools. She serves as an engineering advisor for Wheaton High School’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.

Her personal projects include a quad copter she built to retrieve ballooning equipment. Now she hopes to use the copter to take field of view footage of her family farm.

Uva (left) was a member of IM-SPARX, the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s award-winning team at the 2026 Capstone Design Expo.

Confidence is key to success

Uva understands that her experiences give her a unique perspective on engineering and life she shares with others. “I’m a woman in engineering. I’m LGBTQ+. I’m not white. I’m adopted. But for me the most important thing is acting like you belong where you are. If you have the confidence—and you earned where you are—there’s no reason you shouldn’t act like you belong,” she says.

Her advice to current students: “Even if you have to fake it to get over the mental hump, confidence is key. If you don’t feel confident, find a reason to be.”

Published October 1, 2026