Spotlight: Lillian Croghan Aviation Week's 20 Twenties Winner 2026

Lillian Croghan is a 2026 20 Twenties winner and a graduate student at the University of Michigan, where she earned her B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2024, and is completing her M.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2025. Her groundbreaking research focuses on advancing propulsion systems through innovative computational modeling and analysis.

Croghan applies advanced computational methods to solve critical challenges in propulsion technology. Specializing in pulse detonation engine cycles, she created a Method of Characteristics solver that introduced novel boundary conditions, uncovering previously unidentified shock behavior in propulsion systems. Her work represents a significant advancement in partial differential equation-based propulsion analysis. As a graduate instructor for the University of Michigan's Model-Based Systems Engineering courses, she successfully navigated substantial enrollment expansion while upholding instructional excellence. Her undergraduate team's payload for Blue Origin achieved two successful flights, surpassing all performance benchmarks.

She has accepted a position in GE Aerospace's Edison Engineering Development Program with full doctoral funding and is committed to pursuing a career that bridges propulsion technology and systems engineering.