Princeton alumna, Leila Owens ’23 named Luce Scholar to develop climate leadership skills in Asia

Leila Owens ’23 has been awarded a 2025-26 Luce Scholarship to spend a year in Southeast Asia working on issues related to climate technologies such as renewable energy and advanced wastewater treatment. Currently, Owens is a strategy analyst in Deloitte’s Government and Public Sector consulting practice.

Owens majored in civil and environmental engineering and earned certificates in sustainable energy and geological engineering. During her senior year, she joined the research team of startup PolyGone Systems to help develop a device that removes microplastics from water. For her senior thesis, she developed a novel model that accounts for water stress when considering hydrogen production placement. This earned her entry into the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honors Society.

Owens is a Class of 2022 Dean’s Scholar in the Nations’ Service through the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) and served as a co-director of Output, Princeton’s social entrepreneurship club. She also interned at the U.S. State Department, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

Prior to her undergraduate studies, Owens participated in the Novogratz Bridge Year Program in Udaipur, India where she studied Hindi and interned at a nonprofit focused on health advocacy. She returned to India after graduation to join the investment team of a venture capital firm funding climate-tech startups. 

The Luce Scholars Program was established in 1974 offering emerging leaders immersive professional placement in Asia tailored to their interests and aspirations while promoting mutual understanding and strengthening relationships across borders.