B.S. in Aerospace Engineering (2022) – Texas A&M University
M.S. in Business (2023) – Texas A&M University
Mason is a graduate student from Keller, Texas pursuing a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. As an undergraduate, Mason was the recipient of the Brockman Scholarship and participated in research for the MAESTRO Laboratory while also holding a leadership role in the Student Engineers Council at Texas A&M. Mason spent two summers interning at Lockheed Martin and aspires to work in the defense industry after earning his doctorate. After being awarded his B.S. in aerospace engineering in 2022, Mason completed a one-year multidisciplinary business degree at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School, earning a business master’s degree in 2023.
Currently, Mason supports research for the Department of Defense and is working to refine an uncoupled aeroelastic analysis framework developed by researchers in the MAESTRO Laboratory. For his dissertation, he plans to investigate morphing structures for defense applications.
Experience:
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Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (Palmdale, CA)Utility Systems Intern, Advanced Development Programs (Skunk Works)May 2021 – August 2021
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Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (Marietta, GA—Remote)Propulsion Intern, Air Mobility & Maritime MissionsMay 2020 – August 2020
Fellowship:
- The Department of Aerospace Engineering National Excellence in Aerospace Sciences Fellowship (NEXAS), Texas A&M Dept. of Aerospace Engineering
Publications:
- Ward, R. M., Kirby, D., Hardy, J., Hartl, D. “Effectiveness of shape memory alloy golf clubs in enhancing
golfer performance.” Proc. ASME 2023 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent
Systems. September 2023. - Ward, R. M., Bielefeldt, B. and Hartl, D. “Design of tailorable stiffness structures using L-system topology
optimization”, Proc. SPIE 11377, Behavior and Mechanics of Multifunctional Materials IX, April 2020.