A new highlight video has been produced by our local public television station (KAMU), which features strengths of the group, the department, and its people.
Detailed MAESTRO Research Overview
Engineering Communications at Texas A&M finally released their “Research Spotlight” on the MAESTRO Lab, which is a nice summary of a small piece of the work being performed by our students.
Click on the image below to watch the new video.
Hartl and colleagues visit SpaceX headquarters to discuss the future of engineering education
Dr. Hartl recently joined a team of department heads and other faculty members on an invited visit to the SpaceX Boca Chica/Starbase site, which is the main testing and production location for Starship Launch Vehicles and the headquarters of the company. The visit was made possible in part by Robert Shotwell ‘95, a Former Student of the Texas A&M Engineering Aerospace Department and husband of SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell.
The faculty visitors pose with their Aggie engineering hosts and Robert Shotwell ’95 after observing final assembly of two Starships.
Century Singers help MAESTRO researchers design quieter airplanes
As the beautiful harmonies of the Century Singers echo through the hallway, dozens of microphones pick up the sound of their voices — while software tracks each note.
This may not sound like a typical aerospace engineering experiment, but the results may improve commercial and military airplanes.
Led by Dr. Darren Hartl, an associate professor of aerospace engineering, and aerospace engineering Ph.D. student Kevin Lieb, the multidisciplinary experiment aims to further develop a unique instrument — built by Lieb, senior design students, and other graduate students — that can detect where a sound is coming from, allowing researchers to “see sound.”
Visual representation of sound projection as the Century Singers perform. Pictured (left to right): Braden Leimkeuhler, Lyla Mae Price, Hari Vasudevan, Ninni Vashisht, Ella Hummeldorf and Benjamin Bratten. | Image: Courtesy of Kevin Lieb.
MAESTRO Lab initiates monthly writing and creativity retreats
On the first Monday in February, the MAESTRO Lab started a new tradition. For the first Monday of each month, graduate students, undergraduate research assistants, and other invited scholars will be encouraged to gather offsite for a day of distraction-free creativity and concentration.
Scholars remaining at the end of the retreat, celebrating a successful and productive day surrounded by the beauty of nature.
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MAESTRO and friends enjoy an afternoon of ruthless competition
On one of the most beautiful days of the fall, over 40 people gathered to achieve (or cheer on) athletic greatness. With five teams of six players each, it was one of the best tournaments to date. A huge thanks to all those “friends of the lab” that spent their Saturday with us.
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“MAESTRO and Friends” go skydiving
Jump Load 1 prepares to board a perfectly good airplane.
For no good reason whatsoever, most graduate student members of the MAESTRO Lab decided to spend a morning at Skydive Spaceland (Houston) and make the leap from 14,000 feet together. The activity represented a number of diverse personal victories wrapped up into a most amazing team-building experience.
Undergraduate team advised by Hartl wins national NASA technology pitch competition
After a fire has been extinguished, sprinklers often continue to spray for dozens of minutes or even hours. This can cause flooding and water damage to property, in addition to destruction from the fire itself. To prevent this additional damage, student researchers from Texas A&M University have partnered with the College Station Fire Department to create new sprinkler heads that individually turn off automatically once a fire has been put out.
This innovation was recognized with a first place win at the 2024 NASA Space to Pitch Competition. The competition requires students to form a team, identify a NASA technology with the potential to be applied to a large market, and develop an application and business plan for a potential startup around the chosen technology.
The winning Aggie team behind the new sprinkler technology, known as the SADI Control Systems team (named for their prototype), was inspired by a NASA patent that used technology known as shape memory alloys (SMAs), which change their shape in response to the surrounding temperature. The team used this technology to create a SMA-Actuated Deluge Interrupter (SADI) prototype. The SADI acronym was also chosen in honor of advisor Dr. Hartl’s wife Criseida (Crissy) Hartl.
The SADI Team poses with the NASA technology pitch competition judges of securing a first place win. Team members include: Jireh Lagman (Team Lead), Fernando Trujillo, Joshua Minotti, Gia Garcia, Neel Sharma, Roman Angulo, and Dr. Darren Hartl (advisor)
MAESTRO Lab works with NASA to develop solar energy reflectors for lunar exploration
Texas A&M researchers will help engineer a solution using solar reflectors to get solar power to the bottom of lunar craters.
Near the moon’s south pole lies a 13-mile wide, 2.5-mile-deep crater known as Shackleton, named for Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton — and craters like it — may contain untapped resources that can be accessed with lunar mining.
Solar energy is the optimal energy source to power lunar mining since it does not need to be transported from Earth, but rather is beamed straight from the sun. The problem with using solar energy within craters is that even during the lunar day, some craters may be in complete shadow. Led by Dr. Darren Hartl, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, researchers at Texas A&M have partnered with NASA Langley Research Center to engineer a solution using solar reflectors to get solar power to the bottom of lunar craters.
MAESTRO (almost) meets with the Secretary of the Air Force
Members of the MAESTRO Team were recently given the opportunity to meet with the Secretary of the Air Force to discuss their research. Ph.D. students Mason Ward and Priscilla Nizio were invited to join Darren Hartl for a brief demonstration of aerospace technology focus areas and accomplishments.
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Hartl granted 2024 University Professorship for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence
Six members of the Texas A&M University faculty, including Dr. Darren Hartl, were honored with the University Professorships for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence (UPUTE). These awards are conferred upon the most accomplished teachers of undergraduates at the university. These professors are not only exceptional instructors, but also are innovators in pedagogy, exploring new teaching methods, and seeking engagement with other educators in pursuit of excellence.
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