Spotlight: Nishigandha Kelkar Aviation Week's 20 Twenties Winner 2026

Nishigandha Kelkar, an MBA student at Stanford University, shares her passion for aerospace innovation and advice for aspiring professionals as a 2026 20 Twenties winner.

Nishigandha Kelkar combines aerospace engineering expertise with business strategy to enhance emergency medical access through advanced air mobility solutions. 

As a product manager at Joby Aviation, she crafted long-term roadmaps for scalable electric aircraft deployment. Her tenure at Garmin included managing multimillion-dollar flight deck programs for electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft and contributing to the development of electric aviation strategies. At Stanford, she founded and teaches the university’s first advanced air mobility course while conducting safety research using large-scale accident data.

Driven by her personal experience with delayed emergency care, Kelkar is committed to developing aerospace systems that rapidly transition from innovation to tangible public benefit. She aims to continue shaping policy-driven aerospace solutions that address critical societal needs.