Multifunctional Material and Aerospace Structures Optimization Lab

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)

with James McNeely

[Read more…] about Undergraduate team advised by Hartl wins national NASA technology pitch competition

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.

[Read more…] about MAESTRO Lab works with NASA to develop solar energy reflectors for lunar exploration

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.

[Read more…] about MAESTRO (almost) meets with the Secretary of the Air Force

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.
[Read more…] about Hartl granted 2024 University Professorship for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence

When imagining what it’s like to be in outer space, many people think of experiencing zero gravity. An aspect that people may not think about is outer space’s extreme temperatures. According to NASA, the average low temperature at the moon’s equator is minus 208 F. For comparison, Earth’s lowest recorded temperature is minus 128.6 F, registered in July of 1983 at the Vostok weather station in Antarctica.

The moon’s equator has a temperature range of minus 208 F to 250 F, an almost 500-degree difference. As lunar exploration and the commercialization of space continue, finding a way to survive these extreme temperatures is a necessity.

Dr. Darren Hartl, associate professor of aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, has partnered with NASA’s Glenn Research Center and Johnson Space Center to design a radiator that can adapt to the moon’s wide temperature range.

[Read more…] about Hot or Cold: MAESTRO Researchers Adapt to Lunar Extremes

The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship process is highly competitive; any given engineering department may have only a few recipients in a given year. In March of 2024, the MAESTRO Lab found out that two of its own members had been selected. Undergraduate researcher Sarah Kinney and Ph.D. student Mason Ward were both granted support by the United States Air Force under this program. This brings the total number of current MAESTRO-affiliated NDSEG recipients to four (three under the Air Force, one under the Army).

Mason Ward and Sarah Kinney were granted support to study two very different problems. Mason will explore aircraft shape adaptivity for selective cross-section reduction while Sarah will explore more efficient modeling techniques for hypersonic aerodynamic phenomena.

[Read more…] about Two MAESTRO students awarded prestigious National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowships

A team of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineers from Texas A&M is partnering with the College Station Fire Department (CSFD) to develop a device for reducing the water damage that can occur after fires have been extinguished by sprinklers.

[Read more…] about A new shape memory alloy concept for post-fire flood mitigation

After weeks of planning and effort, the MAESTRO “Hall of Scholars” has finally been completed. This small and special space features the achievements and honors the origins of our student researchers, past and present. All MAESTRO student defense announcements are proudly featured while a row of portraits places special focus on graduate fellowship winners from throughout the years (NSF, NDSEG, NSTGRO, SMART, and TAMU Fellowships). A pennant flag representing every graduate student’s undergraduate institution is exhibited along with a selection of items (samples and prototypes) from past research projects.

The room was substantially renovated by undergraduate research assistant Kristoffer Saeves, whose efforts and attention to detail are greatly appreciated.