After two days of interviewing and filming and a week of work by Uprooted Productions, we are excited to share the story of our team:
Uncategorized
STEM outreach week at Maestro

PhD Student William Scholten talks to high school students about wind tunnel research.
This last week the students in the Maestro Lab were involved in multiple STEM outreach programs, emphasizing the laboratory’s commitment to education. [Read more…] about STEM outreach week at Maestro
MAESTRO Team Attends AIAA SciTech in Orlando
Once again the Maestro group had a strong presence at the SciTech conference, the biggest aerospace conference in the US with more than 4200 participants and 2000 technical papers. Representing the lab, PhD student Pedro Leal and Dr. Darren Hartl presented four technical papers related to the avian-inspired and EVA glove projects (all papers are listed below). [Read more…] about MAESTRO Team Attends AIAA SciTech in Orlando
Volleyball Extravaganza 2017 a Success
As a means off blowing end-of-the-semester stress, the MAESTRO Team gathered at casa de Hartl for another round of morale building and pride crushing volleyball. A full 20 players participated in the four-team round-robin competition. In the end, the “Slat Cove Winners” (Scholten, Patterson, White, Garza, and French visiting student Thomas Thollot) and “HRBB Fully Loaded” (Brazilian visiting student Bia Borges, Pedro Savi, Hartl, Cabezuela, and Alyssa Saenz) tied with three wins and one loss each. A Wiffle Ball game followed, with Hartl (pitcher) learning that some students neglect to mention that they were high school baseball players on their resumés. The evening concluded with a Secret Santa gift exchange organized by Patrick Walgren.
For more pictures, see the Recreation page.
Hartl and Collaborators Featured in WIRED Article on Shape Memory Alloys
You know you are reading a WIRED article when it begins: “HUMANITY MAY BE divided on a great many issues, but most would agree that it would be very cool to have airplane wings made of shapeshifting metal.” Along with collaborators Jim Mabe (Boeing Research and Technology) and Othmane Benafan (NASA-Glenn Research Center), Dr. Hartl was fortunate to work with a good science and technology reporter to summarize some of the most important work currently happening in shape memory alloys.
Read the entire article HERE.
MAESTRO and TEES Work with Siemens to Advance Electric Aviation
This fall, researchers from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University teamed up with Siemens to develop manned aircraft completely powered by electric propulsion systems. [Read more…] about MAESTRO and TEES Work with Siemens to Advance Electric Aviation
Hartl and Scholten Invited to Share Their Work at International CFD Software User’s Conference in Tokyo

Hart’s talk summarized the current use of Cradle’s SC/Tetra software to assess FSI of SMA components
Dr. Hartl and graduate student William Scholten were invited to present their research on the fluid-structure interaction analysis of the SMA-based Slat Cove Filler at the Cradle User’s Conference in Tokyo, Japan. [Read more…] about Hartl and Scholten Invited to Share Their Work at International CFD Software User’s Conference in Tokyo
Hartl Wins New NSF Grant on Embedded Sensory Particles
Most of us take flying in an airplane for granted. We book our tickets, sit through the long check-in lines, and if we’re lucky, take off on time to our chosen destination. Day in and day out we do this without any regard to the age and health of the airplane we’re flying on.
[Read more…] about Hartl Wins New NSF Grant on Embedded Sensory Particles
Hartl team goes to SMART conference at Madrid
Dr. Hartl and graduate student Pedro Leal presented current Maestro research results at the 8th Conference on Smart Structures and Materials in Madrid, Spain. During a four day conference, researchers from 32 countries discussed the current state and future of smart structures while not missing the opportunity to explore the great city of Madrid. [Read more…] about Hartl team goes to SMART conference at Madrid
Morphing Radiator Project Chosen for University-Wide Capital Campaign
The Texas A&M University Fearless on Every Front capital campaign often highlights cutting edge and impactful research in its efforts to promote research from across the university. The Morphing Radiator Project funded by NASA-Johnson was recently selected for use in promotional materials in print media across the country. [Read more…] about Morphing Radiator Project Chosen for University-Wide Capital Campaign