Multifunctional Material and Aerospace Structures Optimization Lab – Page 9 – Research website for the Hartl research team at Texas A&M

Immersive Visualization Laboratory receives university funding

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Darren J. Hartl

One of the difficulties encountered when teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses is trying to present three-dimensional concepts using two-dimensional classroom tools. The Maestro VR Studio in the Department of Aerospace Engineering has been funded by the Texas A&M Triads for Transformation initiative to conduct research into how the STEM classroom experience can be enhanced through the use of virtual reality (VR).

MAESTRO Teams with Local Sculptor to Explore SMAs in Art

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Darren J. Hartl

This past fall, Dr. Hartl and a small group of students had the pleasure of meeting for several hours with Larry Schueckler, an accomplished full-time sculptor residing in the College Station area, to discuss the integration of shape memory alloy elements into artworks and architectural creations.

Accomplished sculptor Larry Schueckler meets with Visiting Scholar Larissa Maciel and others to discuss the potential for integrating shape memory alloys into sculptures and other artworks.

Congratulations to Maestro graduating students!

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Pedro Leal

This Friday (12/14), six of our current research students graduated as part of the Class of 2018. As a lab that firmly believes in undergraduate research, it was a pleasure to have somehow been involved with the development of the next generation of Aerospace Engineers. Among the graduating students, Jacob, Michayal, and Madalyn have been in the lab from its conception and will continue their studies at A&M.

Graduate Student wins Simulia poster contest

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Patrick

Graduate Student Patrick Walgren took home top honors in the academic poster competition at the Dassault-Systemes Simulia Regional Users Meeting (RUM). Patrick presented work completed during his summer internship at the Air Force Research Lab, titled “Structural Design of Adaptive Cylinders.”

Poster Presented at the RUM

Graduate Student Wins Best Student Oral Presentation Award at ICAST 2018

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Brent Bielefeldt

Graduate student Brent Bielefeldt represented the MAESTRO Lab at the 29th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies (ICAST) hosted by Konkuk University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to networking with members of the community and learning about recent advancements in the field of adaptive structures, Brent won Best Student Oral Presentation for his paper entitled “Expanding the Design Space Via Graph-Based Interpretation of L-System Encodings for Topology Optimization of Multifunctional Structures”. [Read more…] about Graduate Student Wins Best Student Oral Presentation Award at ICAST 2018

Maestro Lab goes to SMASIS and is awarded ‘Ephrahim Garcia’ Best Paper Award

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Pedro Leal

This year, Maestro team attended en masse the SMASIS (Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems) conference that took place at San Antonio, TX. The group consisted of Dr. Hartl, seven grad students, and Boeing Tech Fellow Jim Mabe. As the most important conference in the Adaptive Structures community, the team submitted and presented six conference proceedings (including an Invited Speaker session presented by Dr. Hartl). Furthermore, the team was involved with the yearly CASMART (Consortium of the Advancement of SHapep Memory Alloy Technology) where each member presented an overview of their research. Other activities included a high school STEM outreach event, networking with members of the community, and student competitions.

Graduate Summer Retreat 2018

Posted on September 5, 2018 by mingear

After a hot summer where the graduate students were off doing internships in Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Utah, and Colorado the Maestro Group decided to cool off for a weekend at a beach house in Rockport, Texas where we explored the mechanical properties of crab shells and its interfacing with sufficient amounts of butter.

Mechanical Engineering Design Team Develops Acoustic Testing Facility for the MAESTRO Lab

Posted on September 5, 2018 by jjz.1998

Dr. Darren Hartl, of the Maestro Lab at Texas A&M University, sponsored a Mechanical Engineering Senior Design team to design and build a new test section for a 2-story closed-loop wind tunnel in the basement of the Aerospace Engineering building. The new test section needed to be able to take accurate acoustic measurements for research purposes. The team spent the spring of 2018 doing research and design on the anechoic chambers, then spent the summer of 2018 fabricating the design. The finished product was installed and tested in August 2018.

Research on SMAs for Airframe Noise Reduction Featured in MSC Software Case Study

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Darren J. Hartl

Several years of effort on exploring shape memory alloys for airframe noise reduction have recently been summarized in a recent Case Study published by Software Cradle, a subsidiary of MSC Software and providers of SC/Tetra, which produces all CFD results associated with the project.

Coupling of SC/Tetra CFD with Abaqus FEA provides full fluid-structure interaction analysis of a slat cove filler concept through the full deployment and retraction processes.

Hartl Wins 2018 Dean of Engineering Excellence Award

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Darren J. Hartl

Assistant Professor and MAESTRO Lab founder Darren Hartl was recently named a 2018 recipient of the Dean of Engineering Excellence Award