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MAESTRO-affiliated VR flight simulator continues to progress

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Darren J. Hartl

Screenshot of a virtual reality flight simulation showing a maroon and white aircraft flying through large golden rings above a map of Texas A&M University. — Aerospace engineering students designed an immersive virtual reality flight simulation rooted in real-world dynamics to inspire the next generation of engineers. | Image: Courtesy of Team Retro Rocket

[Original story by Felysha Walker] [UPDATE: Television news coverage by KXXV and KAGS]

Students at Texas A&M University are bringing vintage into the future with a new virtual reality (VR) experience for aspiring engineers — the Retro Rocket.

Teams from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering have worked to repurpose an old metal rocket car from a 1950s carnival ride and turn it into a VR flight simulator. The end product will travel with Spark! PK-12, the College of Engineering’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach group, to introduce young minds to the excitement of engineering.

Hartl and collaborators granted patent for liquid metal reconfigurable antenna

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Darren J. Hartl

Scientists at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio used a 3D printer to prototype and bench test what they call a “structurally embedded vascular antenna.”

The antenna’s elements can be manipulated, changing their radiation patterns and frequency response, by pumping liquid metal alloy in and out of the tubes that make up the vascular network. Flow meters and optical sensors control the pump.

It’s a slick idea and allows the formation of antennas inside structures that can change shapes delivering “electromagnetic agility.” [Continue reading Original Story by Troy Carter]

Hartl breaks 4000 citation mark on Google Scholar

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Darren J. Hartl

Only 17 months after reaching 3000 citations and while still officially an Assistant Professor, Dr. Hartl has reached the 4000 citation mark according to Google Scholar.

With an h-index of 25 and with 65 publications having over 10 citations, Dr. Hartl continues to work with his students to make an impact on the smart materials and adaptive structures community in particular. Highly cited publications from the MAESTRO Lab address such topics as shape memory alloys, active origami, and multi-functional composites. Newer papers have addressed fracture and fatigue of shape memory alloy materials, new topological design methods, new actuator concepts, and new methods for coupled fluid-structural analysis specifically tuned for adaptive aerostructures applications.

MAESTRO researchers create origami-inspired satellite antennas that can self-fold

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Darren J. Hartl

Satellite with an dish antenna in orbit around the earth. — Researchers have used the art of origami to create morphing antennas | Image: Getty Images

As humankind steps into new frontiers in space exploration, satellites and space vehicles will need to pack more cargo for the long haul. However, certain items, like dish antennas used for wireless communication, pose a challenge since they cannot be very densely packed for flight because of their signature bowl shape.

Now, researchers at Texas A&M University have used the principles of origami — the ancient Japanese art of paper folding — to create a parabolic structure from a flat surface using a shape-memory polymer. When heated, the researchers showed that the shape-memory polymer changes its shape in a systematic way that mimics folds. This reshaping lifts the material into the shape of a dish. Further, they also showed that their origami-engineered dish antennas performed as efficiently as conventional smooth dish antennas.

Research of former MAESTRO student Bielefeldt leads to National Research Council associateship

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Darren J. Hartl

Ice formation buildup on the front of an airplane wing. — Dr. Brent Bielefeldt is pursuing a postdoctoral research associateship at the Air Force Research Laboratory, where he is continuing his work on a tool that could solve a current problem faced by structural designers. | Image: Getty Images

Dr. Brent Bielefeldt ’16, ’20 discovered his interest for structural design in middle school when, during career day, his friend’s dad designed an entire airplane on the computer in less than 30 minutes. He was fascinated by the tools and their capabilities at this engineer’s fingertips. Eventually, Bielefeldt’s interest in engineering led him to pursue his master’s and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, where he began developing a tool of his own that would solve a current concern in the field of topology optimization. (Original story here; credit Felysha Walker)

MAESTRO student Jessica Zamarripa participates in global engineering challenge

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Darren J. Hartl

A group of people are crowded in a hallway as they wait around. Some people are standing, some are on cell phones and some are talking to each other. — Hospital overcrowding, due to COVID-19 or other issues, leads to inefficient patient care and attention | Image: Getty Images

Three countries, five time zones and a range of technical and business backgrounds. Jessica Zamarripa, a graduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University and member of the MAESTRO Lab, along with a team of international researchers, is working to create a novel wearable patch to help medical professionals remotely monitor patients’ vitals and reduce hospital overcrowding during and after COVID-19.

(Original story by Hannah Conrad)

Students complete Summer 2020 Online Research Experience for Undergraduates (O-REU)

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Darren J. Hartl

Given the various constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual summer research experiences for undergraduates at Texas A&M looked a little different this year. The Materials Science and Engineering Department proceeded to develop and manage a very successful Online Research Experience for Undergraduates (O-REU), which included two students advised by Dr. Hartl. [Videos provided below]

Undergraduates Kevin Lieb and Ryan Lotz present their research at the virtual SMASIS 2020 conference

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Darren J. Hartl

In early September, a research presentation developed by undergraduates Kevin Lieb and Ryan Lotz (and recorded by Dr. Darren Hartl) will be given virtually to the smart materials and adaptive structures communities regarding the design, fabrication, and testing of a shape memory alloy-driven “flow modification system,” all performed at the MAESTRO Laboratory in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Pedro Leal helps produce NASA University Leadership Initiative student overview video

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Darren J. Hartl

To help in the promotion of the various student successes stemming from the multiple University Leadership Initiative (ULI) sites, NASA worked with researchers across the US to produce short videos highlighting their work. MAESTRO Ph.D. student Pedro Leal was a natural candidate to be featured given the wide range of work he has performed in support of this project. His summary, in collaboration with that of Maddie Hetlage, has been recently shared by NASA.

Morphing drones: Hartl and team develop enabling fluid-structure interaction method

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Darren J. Hartl