Marvellous Maduabuchukwu Achugbu

  • Patti Grace Smith Fellow, Class of 2023

  • University of Maryland College Park, Aerospace Engineering, '23

  • Host Institution: SpaceX


Marvellous Achugbu is an undergraduate senior pursuing a major in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. His interest in aerospace began when he moved to the Unites States from Nigeria as he was amazed by the aircraft he entered and became inquisitive on the laws and principles behind its operations. This made him first pursue an associate degree in Aviation Maintenance Technology at the University of the District of Columbia Comunity College where he obtained his Airframe and Powerplant Liscence from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2021. While doing that, he simultaneously pursued another associate degree in Aerospace Engineering at Montgomery College. He also Enlisted in the United States Airforce Reserves with an AFSC of 2T2 ( Air Transportation) and currently serves as the NCT of the Season of the 459th Honor Guard Family. As a young black engineer, he aspires to make a meaningful impact in the aerospace industry and to inspire future generations of engineers with underprivileged backgrounds to pursue their dreams in aerospace and aviation. During his free time, he loves listening to Afromusic and dance to them. He also plays the drums on Sundays at his church (Ebenezer Anglican Igbo Church). This also acts as a stress reliever for him.

During his undergraduate junior year, he joined the UMD rocket team (Terrapinrockets) and during his senior year, he was the project team lead of the UMD Design Build Fly Team where he lead the team through the AIAA 2023 DBF competition making sure the team stays on the set deadlines and making sure they meet the set requirements in their reports and proposal, Preliminary Design Review, and Critical Design Review along with class requirements.

His research experiences started with working in the UMD Motion and Teaming Lab where he learned about Swarm Robots and Kilobots. He worked as an intern at NAVAIR Paxriver where he learned alot about Nanocarbon Technology.

Marvellous hopes to pursue an interdisciplinary career that covers Aerospace Engineering and Aviation Maintenance. He also hopes to dedicate his research and career to making aerospace accessible for everyone and to project voices that are not usually heard as he continues to learn his role in aerospace and find his own voice.