Spring 2014 Aerospace Engineering News

Aerospace Engineering News | 1

NEWSSpring 2014 | A publication from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

2 | Aerospace Engineering News

NEWSAEROSPACE

ENGINEERING

Published by the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University to keep current and former students, industry and trade organizations, and friends of the department informed on the accomplishments and discoveries achieved by one of the nation’s most prominent departments of its kind.

Contact us:

Editor, Jan McHargDepartment of Aerospace Engineering3141 TAMU701 H. R. Bright BuildingCollege Station, TX 77843-3141979.845.0516

[email protected]/aerospace

Subscribe:Aerospace Engineering News is distributed via email and is available online at http://engineering.tamu.edu/aerospace/news/newsletters. If you would like to be added to the distribution or removed from the list, please email [email protected].

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A message from the Department HeaD

Rodney D. W. BowersoxProfessor and Department Head

Aerospace is a high tech field that inspires innovation and is of international importance. Aerospace manufacturing, air transportation, defense, and space exploration all have a major presence in Texas. Since the first Aeronautical courses were introduced in 1928, Texas A&M University has been committed to preparing students for rewarding careers in in this field. In 1940, the Aerospace Engineering Department was formalized within the College of Engineering, and, in 2015, we celebrate 75 years.

The Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M University is now a leading program in the country. Our faculty includes members of the National Academy of Engineering, University Distinguished Professors, Presidential and Regents Professors, an Astronaut, a Test Pilot, NASA Scientists, as well as over 20 society fellows. This group is highly acclaimed in teaching, research and service. Our program attracts the Nation’s best high-school students. Our UG curriculum is focused on a deep coverage of fundamentals to prepare students for the diverse and rapidly changing field of aerospace engineering. Our design sequences and experiential activities emphasize teams, communication skills and innovation. Each year, the National Aerospace Honor Society, Sigma Gamma Tau, selects one senior from across the country as the #1 Aerospace Graduate. Our program leads the Nation in this award. After graduation, our students achieve great success in their careers. For example, a former Aggie founded NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Aerospace Aggies have also established many leading companies such as Aerojet, Air Tractor, MEI technologies and Conceptual MindWorks. Our graduates have become astronauts, chief scientists, and department heads. They have led in the design of major aircraft systems including the Boeing 787, the Lockheed-Martin F22, and the Boeing 777x, and they have even become internationally renowned artists (more than one). Every spring we celebrate the accomplishments of our former students via the Aerospace Engineering Academy; see our website to nominate potential awardees.

The Aerospace Engineering Graduate Research Program at Texas A&M University has grown to international prominence, where, over the last 10 years, research expenditures have exceeded $14M/year. Our graduate students are offered an advanced curriculum, exposure to current events through an active seminar series, and state-of-the-art research supported by the externally funded research programs of our faculty. Research topics include manned and unmanned aircraft, satellites, aerothermal sciences, propulsion and energy, robotics and sensing, rotorcraft, hypersonic vehicles, morphing vehicles, and advanced materials and structures. Our program attracts the World’s top graduate students, who exemplify the epitome of excellence with credentials that are truly outstanding. Upon graduation, these students attain important positions such as faculty at leading universities and/or research scientists in national laboratories and industry.

To conclude, I am humbled to have been selected by the Faculty and Dean to serve as Department Head for Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. I am especially encouraged about the future as we actively grow the department to meet the 21st century needs of our industry and strategically energize our already internationally acclaimed research program. – R. Bowersox


InsIDe tHIs Issue

4 | NASA astronaut Chamitoff joins aerospace engineering faculty5 | Dr. Rodney Bowersox appointed as Department Head6 | FAA selects Texas A&M as a drone test site8 | Asteroids no match for paint gun, says professor Dave Hyland9 | Dr. Satya N. Atluri joins as TIAS Scholar | Boeing partners with Texas A&M for Camp SOAR10 | Aerospace Engineering honors eight with induction into academy11 | Aerospace’s 75th Anniversary12 | TiiMs and NASA-Langley Developing Structure for Noise Reduction in Commercial Aircraft13 | Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute increases its presence in Europe | Aerospace engineering researchers design, build unmanned air system

Student Successes14 | Two Graduate Students Awarded Fellowships from the National Science Foundation | Aerospace Graduate Student Wins Best Student Paper15 | SAE Aero Design Team Takes First Place | Aerospace Graduate Students Win in National Best Paper Competition16 | Student spotlight: Allison Fuss ‘14 | Graduate student finalist in 3 Minute Thesis competition17 | Aerospace engineering students win AHS competition Aerospace student awarded NASA scholarship

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22Faculty Achievements18 | Reed named Presidential Professor | Two Aerospace Faculty Selected for Distinguished Achievement Awards19 | White Named William and Montine P. Head Fellow | Donzis receives prestigious Francois Frenkiel award20 | Lagoudas named AIAA Fellow21 | Benzerga named TEES Fellows

Alumni News21 | Fischer honored as Outstanding Alumni22 | Aggie-led team wins world championship

Giving23 | Widow of Lockheed Martin Exec Endows Scholarship | Monschke scholarship to aid aerospace undergraduates

4 | Aerospace Engineering News3 | Aerospace Engineering News

Dr. Greg Chamitoff, NASA astronaut, has joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University as a Professor of Engineering Practice. Chamitoff will lead in the development of a new Human Space/Robotic Systems and Operations curriculum within the department.

As we continue to move into the 21st century, privately owned and operated vehicle systems for access-to-space will become an increasingly important part of the field of aerospace engineering. The state of Texas is committed to leading the country in this regard and the Department of Aerospace Engineering, in turn, is committed to providing the workforce for this emerging market. The objective of the new curriculum is to prepare

engineers for leadership roles in the emerging field of privately owned space operations.

Chamitoff received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1984. He earned his master's in aeronautical engineering at California Institute of Technology in 1985. In 1992, Chamitoff obtained his Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

NASA Astronaut Chamitoff Joins Aerospace Engineering Faculty


New Department Head

Dr. Rodney Bowersox is our new head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University.

He joined the aerospace engineering faculty in 2002 and served as the interim department head from July 2012 to July 2013. He previously was the associate department head for graduate studies and research infrastructure in the department.

Bowersox established and directs the National Aerothermochemistry Laboratory at Texas A&M, a unique interdisciplinary research facility. His research interests include theoretical, experimental and computational modeling of high-speed viscous flows with molecular and chemical non-equilibrium, dynamic stall, high-speed propulsion, hypersonic transition, hypersonic turbulence control, laser diagnostics, shock and detonation waves, unsteady gasdynamics and wind tunnel design.

Bowersox is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the American Physical and Chemical Societies. He is a member of the AIAA Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee, where he chairs the Theoretical and Experimental Subcommittee. He is an associate editor for the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power. He is also a US National Committee Member for the International Society of Airbreathing Engines.

He received the Col Charles A. Stone Award in 1995 for leadership at the AFIT, as well as five Air Force Scientific Achievement Awards in 1996 and 1997. He was selected the AIAA outstanding faculty member in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Alabama in 1999 and 2001.

Among his many accomplishments, he received the Lockheed Martin Excellence in Teaching Award in engineering at TAMU in 2004, was awarded the TAMU Engineering ’43 Webb Faculty Fellow in 2005, was selected as a TEES Faculty Fellow in 2009, awarded the E.D. Brockett Professorship Award in 2010 and most recently was awarded the Haliburton Foundation Professorship.

Dr. Rodney Bowersox

6 | Aerospace Engineering News5 | Aerospace Engineering News

The Federal Aviation Administration has selected Texas as one of six test center sites to develop drones, or Unmanned Air Systems (UAS), for commercial use by businesses, farmers and researchers. The decision was based on a statewide proposal led by the Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center (LSUASC) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

The proposal, a collaboration between Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), along with Camber Corporation, designates 11 test ranges in the state, led by researchers at campuses in College Station and Corpus Christi. The LSUASC focus will be on developing system safety requirements of UAS vehicles and operations with a goal of protocols and procedures for airworthiness testing, and conducting sponsored research.

FAA selects Texas A&M as a Drone Test Site


The competition for a test site was fierce, with 25 entities from 24 states submitting proposals. Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia will host the initial research sites, providing diverse climates, geography and air traffic environments as the FAA seeks to safely introduce commercial UAS into U.S. airspace. The test sites will be used to help the FAA develop certification standards for unmanned aircraft and procedures for how they can be operated within the air-traffic system.

Dr. John Valasek, Professor with the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M explained that Texas was one of the sites ultimately chosen for two basic reasons. “The site in Texas is very geographically diverse because Texas has mountains, prairies, forests, desert and seashores, and testing can be conducted in all of these areas. ” He added that, “Texas has six universities that are teamed together under the LSUASC and all of them have significant basic and applied UAS research programs. It’s a very diverse set of technologies and capabilities, and students are very excited to be working on them.”

Researchers from TEES and all divisions in the College of Engineering will be conducting specific UAS research that aligns with FAA focal areas, such as security systems, path planning and obstacle avoidance, improved autonomy and human factors, reconfigurable antennas, command and control link issues, and airworthiness.

The airfield complex at the Riverside Campus in Bryan is currently one of the 11 LSUASC test ranges, and a new complimentary facility is being planned by the Center for Autonomous Vehicles and Sensor Systems (CANVASS). Called the Riverside Range, the test site improvements and its new building will facilitate the development and testing of unmanned underwater, ground, air, and space vehicles. The facility will open in 2014.

Dr. Valasek leads the fixed-wing UAS research and testing program at Texas A&M University in College Station, and his research is a perfect fit to the focus on developing system safety requirements of UAS vehicles. “My students and I broadly seek to improve trust in autonomous systems by improving the safety and airworthiness of UAS systems. We hope to ultimately make them acceptable for widespread use with the public, with federal agencies, and with the private sector too.” Besides working on the flight critical systems in UAS, Valasek’s team is designing and developing custom fixed-wing UAS for humanitarian relief, precision agriculture and crop dusting, infrastructure assessment, and environmental monitoring.

This historic decision has huge financial implications for the state of Texas, with a statewide impact of around $8 billion over the next 10 years, $260 million of that in South Texas, creating roughly 1,200 jobs.


There is research that is off the wall, some off the charts and some off the planet, such as what a Texas A&M University aerospace and physics professor is exploring. It’s a plan to deflect a killer asteroid by using paint, and the science behind it is absolutely rock solid, so to speak, so much so that NASA is getting involved and wants to know much more.

Dave Hyland, professor in the Aerospace Engineering department as well as Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M and a researcher with more than 30 years of awards and notable grants, says one possible way to avert an asteroid collision with Earth is by using a process called “tribocharging powder dispensing” – as in high pressured – and spreading a thin layer of paint on an approaching asteroid, such as the one named DA14 that came within 17,000 miles on Feb. 15, 2013.

What happens is that the paint changes the amount by which the asteroid reflects sunlight, Hyland theorizes, producing a change in what is called the Yarkovsky effect (which was discovered by a Russian engineer in 1902). The force arises because on a spinning asteroid, the dusk side is warmer than the dawn side and emits more thermal photons, each photon carrying a small momentum. The unequal heating of the asteroid results in a net force strong enough to cause the asteroid to shift from its current orbit, Hyland further theorizes.

Asteroids are a constant threat to Earth

The kind of paint used is not the kind found at your local hardware store, Hyland explains.

“It could not be a water-based or oil-based paint because it would probably explode within seconds of it entering space,” he notes.

“But a powdered form of paint could be used to dust on the asteroid and the sun would then do the rest. It cures

the paint to give a smooth coating, and would change the unequal heating of the asteroid so that it would be forced off its current path and placed on either a higher or lower orbit, thus missing Earth.

“I have to admit the concept does sound strange, but the odds are very high that such a plan would be successful and would be relatively inexpensive. The science behind the theory is sound. We need to test it in space.”

As for getting the paint on the asteroid, a practical way to do this was discovered by a former student of Hyland’s, Shen Ge, who has since started a new space company. The “tribocharging powder dispenser” would spray a mixture of inert gas and charged dry-paint powder at the asteroid that would attract the powder to its surface through electrostatics. Then solar wind and UV radiation would cure the powder, giving a smooth, thin coat on the surface.

Getting the paint in the asteroid’s path in a timely manner will certainly be a challenge, Hyland observes.

“The tribocharged powder process is a widely used method of painting many products,” he says. “It remains only to adapt the technology to space conditions.”

NASA has approached Hyland for developing such a project to test the theory, and the Earth may need it quickly. An asteroid called Apophis is due in 2029 and will come closer than many communications satellites in orbit right now. It will fly by on April 13 (Friday the 13 to be exact) of 2029 and make a return trip in 2036, and it’s estimated to be more than 1,000 feet in length and is appropriately named for an evil Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. There is no chance of its hitting Earth in 2029, but a small chance in the next close approach in 2036, Hyland notes.

Asteroids have hit Earth before. One hit off the Yucatan coast of Mexico about 65 million years ago and is believed to have caused the eventual extinction of the dinosaurs. And in 1908, the fabled “Tunguska event” occurred in Siberia in which an asteroid or meteor exploded several miles above the Earth, flattening trees and killing livestock over 800 square miles. The explosion is now estimated to have been 1,000 times more powerful than the A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

“There are thousands of asteroids out there, and only a small percentage of them are known and can be tracked as they approach Earth,” Hyland adds.

“The smaller ones, like DA14 are not discovered as soon as others, and they could still cause a lot of damage should they hit Earth. It is really important for our long-term survival that we concentrate much more effort discovering and tracking them, and developing as many useful technologies as possible for deflecting them.”

Asteroids No Match for Paint Gun, Says Professor Dave Hyland

Artist’s rendering of an asteroid in space with the Earth in the background


Each year the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS) invites a number of nationally and internationally prominent Faculty Fellows to pursue

advanced study at TIAS in collaboration with faculty and student scholars at Texas A&M. The goal is to provide a stellar environment for research and scholarship with the Faculty Fellows having freedom to pursue their own research interests, as well as collaborate in disciplinary and multidisciplinary research.

One of the TIAS Faculty Fellows for the 2013-14 academic year will be contributing to the Department of Aerospace Engineering. We warmly welcome Dr. Satya N. Atluri, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, at the University of California, Irvine.

Atluri’s widely cited research reveals the workings of complex biological and mechanical systems. Over the last four decades, his work has received support from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. armed forces, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, among others.

Currently, Atluri is improving the safety of helicopters by developing a mathematical model to better predict the failure of rotors and other major components, and is conducting research on integrated materials science, mathematics, modeling, and engineering of the materials genome.

Born in India and a citizen of the United States, Atluri is a Distinguished Alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science. Atluri earned his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, and holds four honorary doctorates. He also has served on the faculties of the University of Washington, Georgia Tech University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Joins Aerospace EngineeringTIAS Scholar

Dr. Satya N. Atluri

Camp SOAR is a five-day summer camp designed to expose upcoming high school juniors and seniors with an interest in aerospace engineering to the research and facilities at Texas A&M University’s Department of Aerospace Engineering. The students selected to attend Camp SOAR 2013 explored the field of aerospace engineering with an emphasis on either aeronautics or astronautics. Over the course of the week, students in each track were exposed to the engineering design process and the importance of teamwork by participating in a design project (glider for aeronautics and modified Estes rockets for astronautics). At the end of the week five teams of six (three aircraft and three rocket) competed in a final mission: to launch their gliders using powered rockets and release the gliders after the rockets reach maximum altitude after burnout. The objective was to see which glider stayed aloft the longest.

In addition, students toured the department’s facilities, including, but not limited to, the Vehicle Systems and Control Laboratory, Land Air and Space Robotics Lab, the Flight Research Laboratory, and many more. They had the opportunity to interact with current students as well as world-renowned faculty.

Participants stayed on campus and had use of the University’s recreational facilities, the University library and the University’s computer facilities to see what it is like to live the life of a student at Texas A&M.

The Boeing Company recognizes the value this program provides high school students interested in learning more about aerospace engineering and generously provided monetary and personnel support for the program, including the sponsorship of up to six $200 scholarships.

Boeing Partners with Texas A&M

for Camp SOAR


Eight new members were inducted into Texas A&M University’s Distinguished Aerospace Engineering Alumni Academy during the Aerospace Engineering Annual Awards Banquet May 1, 2013.

The Aerospace Alumni Academy was established in 2009 to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding alumni and friends who champion the aerospace engineering profession, create a sense of community and camaraderie within the department, and facilitate interaction and continuity with the student body and our alumni and corporate friends.

Inductees are nominated by students, faculty, alumni and others who submit a nomination. The inductees are recognized in one of four categories: Outstanding Young Aerospace Engineer, Outstanding Aerospace Engineer, Aerospace Engineering Honorary Engineer and Distinguished Aerospace Engineering Alumni.

The Outstanding Young Aerospace Engineer is presented to an alumnus under the age of 40 who has shown outstanding work in their field and is a promising leader for the future. Zachary Reeder ’05 was chosen based on his exceptional and promising career at Scaled Composites. He currently oversees the design and fabrication of the soon-to-be largest aircraft in the world.

The Outstanding Aerospace Engineer is presented to alumni 40 years or older who have proven superior professional achievement, community service and service to the university. David Allen ’72 was

chosen for his exceptional academic career for both technical and administrative contributions. Currently serving as the dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas–Pan American, Allen is an internationally recognized researcher in the area of viscoelastic and nonlinear publications. Douglas Cooke ’73 was chosen based on his exceptional career at NASA. Cooke worked for nearly 38 years in NASA’s space shuttle, International Space Station and exploration systems programs.

Presented to non-Texas A&M aerospace engineers, the Aerospace Engineering Honorary Engineer Award recognizes those who have made major contributions to the engineering profession and whose support of the Texas A&M aerospace engineering department merit recognition. H. Norman Abramson was selected based on his distinguished achievements during his exceptional careers in both academia and industry, serving more than 35 years at Southwest Research Institute. Howard Barlow was also recognized for his contribution as the first department head of the Department of Aeronautical (Aerospace) Engineering at Texas A&M in 1940. James Rand’s distinguished achievements in academia and industry include his career as a professor at Texas A&M from 1968 to 1979, as well as serving as President of Winzen Engineering from 1988 to 2011.

The Distinguished Aerospace Engineering Alumni Award is presented to alumni who are retired or near retirement with outstanding career records and recognizes sustained and meritorious contributions

to engineering and engineering management. Ed Muniz ’67 was chosen for his distinguished achievements as founder and CEO of MEI Technologies Inc., an award-winning national advanced technology company serving public and private sector customers in the aerospace, defense and biotechnology markets worldwide. Leland Snow ’52 was chosen for his distinguished achievements as founder and president of Air Tractor, the world’s largest producer of agricultural planes.

Past recipients of the Distinguished Aerospace Engineering Alumni Award include Edward “Pete” Aldridge ’60 and Thomas Cogan ’77.

Aerospace Engineering Honors Eight with Induction into Academy

From left to right: Zach Reeder, H. Norman Abramson, Douglas Cooke, Ed Muniz, James Rand, David Allen


The Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University will celebrate it's 75th anniversary in 2015. In gearing up for this grand celebration, we are looking for photos and unique stories from our alumni and friends of aerospace.

If you have any wonderful photos to share with us that could be included in our celebration, we would love to have a copy. We would also enjoy any interesting, unique stories regarding your time here at Texas A&M and what you have been doing since you left. We will try to use as many stories and pictures as we can!

You can email those pictures and stories directly to me, Jan McHarg, Communications Specialist for Aerospace Engineering at [email protected].

Be on the lookout in the coming months as we send out more information regarding the events that will surround the 75th celebration!

Celebrating 75 years!


TiiMS and NASA-Langley Developing Structure for Noise Reduction in Commercial Aircraft

A team from the Texas Institute for Intelligent Materials (TiiMS) at Texas A&M

University along with researchers from the ASME Active and Multifunctional

Materials Technical Committee at NASA-Langley have begun

collaborations on the development of a new implementation of shape memory alloys (SMAs) for the purpose of reducing airframe noise.

The leading-edge-slat device of high-lift systems for typical transport aircraft is a prominent source of localized unsteady flow with aeroacoustic consequences that contributes significantly to environmental noise in the vicinity of airports. One solution first proposed a decade ago is the concept of a slat-cove filler (SCF), which greatly reduces these aeroacoustic effects by eliminating a key structural cavity and many of the accompanying unsteady flow mechanisms. Practical implemental of this concept has proven difficult, however, due to the substantial geometric change that is required during the transition from cruise to/from takeoff and landing.

Researchers at NASA LaRC, led by Travis Turner, have developed a highly deformable SCF concept enabled by pseudoelastic SMAs. Bench-top models have been developed to demonstrate concept feasibility and explore the parametric design space.

To expand and improve these efforts, TiiMS researchers Darren Hartl (TEES Assistant Research Professor and TiiMS Director of Operations) and Will Scholten (aerospace engineering senior) have developed a high-fidelity and fully-parameterized computational representation of this novel device. The TiiMS team has begun the process of analysis-driven design exploration using a combination of commercial, open source, and custom-created tools. According to Dr. Hartl, “The efforts of Will have resulted in both an optimized design for the bench-top prototype being further developed at NASA Langley, as well as a comprehensive understanding of design trends that may facilitate implementation of a pseudoelastic SMA, slat-cove filler on future transport aircraft.” Preliminary results have validated the accuracy of the computational framework as a valuable alternative to physical prototyping of complex morphing structures.

This work will continue this summer as Will Scholten as been granted a second consecutive summer of support through the NASA Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars (LARSS) program. Dr. Hartl is clearly a strong supporter of this research opportunity, saying “All aerospace engineering students in our department should be actively applying for positions through the LARSS program. It is a great way to obtain real-world engineering research experience.”

Source: http://asms-tc.org/newsletters/ASMSNewsletterSpring2014.pdf


The Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute (AVSI) has executed a memorandum of understanding with the Aerospace Valley Association in Toulouse, France that will greatly enhance its presence within the European aerospace community. AVSI is a Texas A&M Engineering Experimentation Station (TEES) center organized under the Aerospace Engineering Division and an important partner of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. AVSI addresses issues that impact the aerospace community through international cooperative research and pre-competitive collaboration among industry, government and academia.

First established in 1998 by a team of original industrial members that included only US-based companies, the center expanded to include the U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration in 2003. International collaboration began with the participation of researchers from European business units of existing AVSI Members and later grew to include the first international partner, Airbus, which joined in 2008. Brazilian airframer Embraer followed in 2011, Rolls Royce in 2012, and most recently Saab in 2013.

This past fall, AVSI moved to further grow its partnership with European companies. At its annual Executive Board Meeting in Toulouse, France, Director Dr. Dave Redman formalized the relationship between the center and Aerospace Valley, a “World Competitiveness Cluster” located in Toulouse. The objective of the cluster is to foster relationships and promote collaborative research among its 625 member companies. According to AVSI Assistant Director Dr. Darren Hartl, “By teaming with Aerospace Valley, AVSI greatly increases its visibility and access to new research among the many aerospace companies located in southern France.”

In a separate development at the same meeting, the role of AVSI Executive Board Chair was passed by unanimous vote to Pascal Joly, Director of Engineering at Airbus North America. This is the first leadership appointment of a representative from an internationally based company. Moving forward, AVSI is exploring the possibility of establishing a new position, “Assistant Director-Europe,” to more directly support European participation.

Given our global and interconnected economy, AVSI will continue to promote new aerospace research partnerships to address issues shared by aerospace industry stakeholders worldwide.

Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute Increases Its Presence in Europe

A research team led by Texas A&M University professor Dr. John Valasek has designed, built, operated and patented (pending) the Pegasus I Unmanned Air System (UAS).

Valasek is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and director of the Center for Autonomous Vehicles and Sensor Systems (CANVASS) and the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory.

Pegasus I was designed to fill an industry and government customer need for a low-cost, high-durability testbed for evaluation of the following advanced control law and sensor concepts: auto-landing, fault tolerant adaptive control, machine learning control,and machine vision relative navigation.

Pegasus I is 11 feet long with a 12-foot wingspan and has a very low designed stall speed of 26 knots. It can carry a 20-pound payload and has a large payload volume of 12U of half-width rack chassis, in addition to a large nose cone for mounting various forward and downward looking sensors. Maximum takeoff weight is 80 pounds.

Pegasus I is also designed to be a control systems integration testbed, and has multiple and redundant control effectors to enhance flight safety and enable automatic controls research: eight ailerons, two elevators, two rudders and one throttle. The power plant is a 3W-85Xi CS single piston engine with 9.7 HP.

Pegasus II is a lighter-weight derivative of the same configuration and power plant, and Pegasus III is a smaller and lighter derivative with electric power.

Current Pegasus I research activities are funded by Raytheon Company and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Aerospace engineering researchers design, build unmanned air system


Aerospace Graduate Student Wins Best Student Paper

Majid Tabesh, a graduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering working under the advisement of Dr. James Boyd and Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas, was awarded first place in the SPIE/ASME 2014 Best Student Paper Presentation Competition. SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, held its 21st international symposium on smart structures and materials and nondestructive evaluation and health monitoring (SPIE Smart Structures/NDE) in March 2014.

The award-winning paper, “Modeling size effect in the SMA response: a gradient theory,” was presented at this conference in San Diego, CA. SPIE Smart Structures/NDE is a multidisciplinary conference devoted to energy harvesting, non-destructive evaluation (NDE), damage detection, structural health monitoring (SHM), dielectric elastomers, actuators, shape memory alloys and polymers, magnetorheological fluids, electroactive polymers (EAP), bioinspired and robotic systems, and smart materials, sensors, systems, and networks.

Majid’s research is related to the understanding and modeling of the behavior of shape memory alloys (SMAs) at sub-micron scales. SMAs can be used as small-scale actuators in sensor applications for various industries such as bioengineering, aviation, and oil and gas. The Texas Institute for Intelligent Materials and Structures (TiiMS), as part of its effort on development and understanding of active materials, supported this research activity.

Nearly 120 papers were submitted toward this year’s student paper competition at the SPIE Smart Structures/NDE conference. Six finalists were chosen for presentation at the competition based on their contribution to the field of smart structures and materials and advancement of the state-of-the-art. Of these finalists, Majid was selected by a panel of judges representing academia, industry, and national labs to have given the best overall technical presentation. Our congratulations to Majid for his great representation of Texas A&M and the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Two Graduate Students Awarded Fellowships from the National Science FoundationFor the second consecutive year, a graduate student from the Department of Aerospace Engineering has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Tim Woodbury, master’s degree student, won the award in 2013, and Steven Anderson, working on his doctoral

degree in aerospace engineering has been named one of the 2014 winners.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers.

Competition is fierce and selection is based on outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well as the potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the US science and engineering enterprise. With only 12 aerospace engineering students nationally being selected each year, these awardees share in the prestige and opportunities that become available when they are chosen.

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

Tim’s field of research is Autonomous Systems and Robotics under the guidance of Dr. John Valasek, Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and Director of the Center for Autonomous Vehicles and Sensor Systems (CANVASS).

Steven’s field of research is plasma-based space propulsion under the guidance of Dr. Sharath Girimajii, Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Tim Woodbury

Steven Anderson

stuDent successes


stuDent successes

SAE Aero Design Team Takes First PlaceThe SAE Aero Design Team from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University won first place overall in the Regular Class of the international SAE Aero Design West Competition in Fort Worth, TX over the weekend of March 28 – 30, 2014. C o m p e t i n g against 33 schools from five countries, the team also took first place in oral presentation and a second place in the design report competition. The 2014 team was led by Technical Captain Russell Trahan along with Business Captain and Stability & Control Lead Brookelynn Russey, Aerodynamics Lead Chris Lizaso, Structures Lead Armando Padilla, and Metrology & Operations Lead Chris Bertagne.

The is just the sixth year that the SAE Aero Design team from Texas A&M has competed, and the competition was the most exciting and dramatic in the team’s history. The SAE Aero Design competition is intended to provide undergraduate and graduate engineering students with a real-life engineering challenge: design, build, and fly an original R/C aircraft capable of lifting as much weight as possible within the competition’s design constraints. The competition has been designed to provide exposure to the kinds of situations that engineers face in their real-life work environment. First and foremost a design competition, students find themselves performing trade studies and making compromises to arrive at a design solution that will optimally meet the mission requirements while still conforming to the configuration limitations.

The overall score is a combination of three scores: the oral presentation, the design report, and the flight performance. The flight performance consists of 5 rounds where the teams score points for each successful flight. After three rounds, Texas A&M had a substantial 32 point lead. However, in round four Texas A&M crashed and destroyed the entire front of their aircraft. Another team then lifted over twice the payload of any other team and jumped to 1st place with an 8 point lead. The Aggies pulled together and repaired the whole front of the aircraft including all the mountings for the electronics, motor, and landing gear. In the fifth

round, the leading team crashed. Texas A&M had one chance to lift enough weight to win. The plane landed hard and the motor mount fell off. However, the rules state that the flight is successful if you can pick up the aircraft all in one piece. The motor held on by two wires. Texas A&M won first place overall by 1.3 points with a total score of 166 points.

Team members include Chris Lizaso, Austin McShan, Alex Voss, Gabino Torres, Kevin Hainline, Nico Hurst, Brookelyn Russey, Russell Trahan, Armando Padilla, Akshay Shankar, Taylor Thomas, Nick Page, Chris Bertagne, Chase Lookofsky and Taylor Dickens, all under the direction of Dr. Suman Chakravorty, Associate Professor in the aerospace department.

Aerospace Graduate Students Win in National Best Paper CompetitionFour graduate students from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University were selected for best paper awards at the 37th Annual American Astronautical Society’s Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference held in Breckenridge, CO January 31 – February 5, 2014.

The papers were selected by a committee composed of university, industry, and government judges.

Dylan Conway, a 2nd year PhD student, Brent Macomber, a 4th year PhD student and Kurt Cavalieri, a 5th year PhD student, were awarded Best Paper First Prize for their paper titled “Vision-Based Relative Navigation Filter for Asteroid Rendezvous” written with Dr. John Junkins. First place comes with a framed certificate and a cash prize of $1,000.

Robyn Woollands, a 2nd year PhD student, was awarded Best Paper Second Prize for her paper titled “A New Solution for the General Lambert Problem” written with Dr. John Junkins. Second place comes with a framed certificate and a $500 cash prize.

Dr. John Junkins said, “I am so proud of these four stellar graduate students who just had a wonderful recognition of their papers and presentations, as judged by professionals in their field. These exceptional individuals are ambassadors that represent the face of the excellence that is our program in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University.”


STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Allison Fuss ‘14

Taken from the Commandant’s Weekly update:

Allison Fuss ‘14 is an Aerospace Engineering major from Lubbock, Texas and a current member of the National Society of Women Engineers. The daughter of Linda Hinkle and Steve Fuss, Allison is serving as the Commander of A-Battery in the Aggie Band for the 2013-2014 year.

Active within the Corps of Cadets, Allison was the A-Battery First Sergeant her junior year and is currently the Captain of the Corps Women’s Soccer Team. She also serves as the Mellophone Section Officer in the Aggie Band.

Allison has proven to be a driven and motivated young woman who has brought maturity and leadership to every position she has had in the Corps. She is focused, intelligent, mature, and truly leads by example in all that she does. As the A-Battery Commander, she has excelled as a mentor to her underclassmen and is well respected by her peers. I have every confidence in her leadership in the Aggie Band this year and know that she is going to make a superb Army leader in the future. Allison is an excellent example of the “well educated leaders of character” that Texas A&M has been producing for over 137 years. I look forward to seeing her go on to great success in the future!

Upon her graduation in December 2014, Allison will commission into the U.S. Army and hopes to become an Army Aviator and fly helicopters.

Graduate Student Finalist in 3 Minute Thesis CompetitionAerospace Engineering graduate student Yogesh Babbar was a finalist in Texas A&M’s Three Minute Thesis competition in November. Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland. Graduate students have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance. 3MT is not an exercise in trivializing or “dumbing down” research, but rather challenges students to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries so they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience.

Texas A&M University’s inaugural 3MT competition was held this fall. To determine who competes in the 3MT, a preliminary competition was held; only the top 5 competitors advanced to the university-wide final and competed for cash prizes. TAMU’s winner then represented the university at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ inaugural Three Minute Thesis competition on Feb. 22, 2014, in San Antonio, Texas.

Doctoral and Master’s Thesis students nearing the end of their graduate work were eligible for this competition. Yogesh’s 3 Minute Thesis was titled “Aeroelastic Response and Control Under Gust,” with this research description: “This research aims at understanding aeroelastic behavior of slender wings and blades under gust. Some examples are an airplane wing in turbulence and a wind turbine blade. Experiments are being conducted to develop control laws to eliminate such oscillations. This will result in better flight experience, longer airplane life and more efficient power production in case of wind turbines.”

stuDent successes


Aerospace Engineering students win AHS CompetitionAerospace engineering students working on their senior capstone design project under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Rogers won second place in the 30th Annual American Helicopter Society (AHS) Student Design Competition.

The team’s entrant, a tiltrotor callled “The HealCopter,” took second place in the undergraduate category as well as being named “Best New Entrant.” The AHS Student Design Competition, which challenges students to design a vertical lift aircraft that meets specified requirements, provides a practical exercise for engineering students at colleges and universities around the world. The competition promotes student interest in vertical flight technology.

The 2013 Student Design Competition challenged students to design The HealCopter, a helicopter aimed at rescuing victims of a natural disaster. It must be capable of reaching the scene of the disaster rapidly with a large payload. It also requires equipment for the helicopter to operate safely. Team members include Sarah Atkinson, Katie Lane, Josh Mickle, Tyler Noesser,and Lisa Warren, with Vishvas Suryakumar as the teaching assistant and Rogers acting as their adviser. The team won a monetary prize of $700 as part of their second-place finish. The American Helicopter Society International is the world’s premier vertical flight technical society. Since its inception in 1943, AHS has been a major force in the advancement of vertical flight. The society is the global resource for information on vertical flight technology. It provides global leadership for scientific, technical, educational and legislative initiatives that advance the state-of-the-art of vertical flight. Eurocopter was the sponsor of the 30th annual competition, which rotates among AgustaWestland, The Boeing Company, Bell Helicopter Textron, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Eurocopter.

Aerospace student awarded NASA Scholarship

Alejandro Azocar, an undergraduate in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a 2013 NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Undergraduate Award under the NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program.

Azocar is one of 25 students nationwide selected to receive the agency’s Aeronautics Scholarship for the 2013-2014 school year. This scholarship program, which is in its sixth year, is designed to aid undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in fields of study related to aeronautics and aviation. Recipients are selected from more than 350 applications.

The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program is managed by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), which works with NASA to administer the program. Work conducted at ARMD is directed toward enhancing the state of aeronautics for the nation, transforming the nation’s air transportation system, and developing the knowledge, tools and technologies to support future air and space vehicles. The scholarship program’s purpose is to help advance the nation’s aeronautics enterprise by investing in the educational development of the future aeronautics workforce.

The scholarship includes tuition funds up to $15,000 per year for twi years for educational and related costs.

stuDent successes


Dr. Helen Reed, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, was named a recipient of the 2013 Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award, the most prestigious faculty honor bestowed by Texas A&M University, along with Dr. Lawrence S. Brown from the College of Science.

Announcement of the 2013 recipients of the award, which includes a $25,000 stipend to each winner and the lifetime title of “Presidential Professor for

Teaching Excellence,” was made by then Texas AM President R. Bowen Loftin.

“Dr. Brown and Dr. Reed personify the teaching qualities that we value so highly at Texas A&M – caring for students, being dedicated and innovative and being leaders in their fields,” Loftin said. “They join a growing number of distinguished faculty who have had bestowed on them this special designation – the university’s highest form of recognition for teaching excellence.”

Nominations for the Presidential Professor awards are made by students, faculty members and deans in each of the university’s colleges and schools. Faculty Senate representatives review the nominations submitted by the colleges and schools and narrow the list that is sent to the president for the final selections.

Dr. Reed joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2004 and served as department head for four years before returning to teaching and research on a full-time basis.

One of her former students, who studied under her at another university before following her to Texas A&M, wrote in support of her nomination: “I could not imagine pursuing graduate studies under any other professor. She inspires her students to undertake great endeavors, provides endless optimism and encouragement, and empowers undergrads and grads alike to achieve their every goal.”

Widely regarded as an expert in hypersonics, energy efficient aircraft and small satellite design, Reed has led research projects totaling millions of dollars and is a member of the National Research Council’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. She has received numerous professional awards and honors.With teaching and mentoring students as top priorities, Reed has directed 16 doctoral students, 31 master’s degree students and more than 1,000

Dr. Helen Reed Named Presidential Professorundergraduate students during her career.

Colleagues say employers eagerly seek out her students, who are known for being well prepared, with extensive hands-on experience in a demanding profession. One example is the AggieSat Lab Satellite that Reed directs. This includes a partnership with NASA Johnson Space Center and the University of Texas to promote space engineering education and develop new technologies used in space exploration. Through this program, her students designed, launched and operated Texas A&M’s first satellite in 2009, with another mission planned for next year.

Reed earned an A.B. degree in mathematics from Goucher College, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech. She has received numerous professional awards and honors, including being a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), the American Physical Society, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She received the Atwood Award from American Society for Engineering Education and AIAA, and she was inducted into Academy of Engineering Excellence at Virginia Tech (her alma mater).

Faculty acHIevements

Three Aerospace Faculty Selected for Distinguished Achievement AwardsTwo aerospace engineering faculty members were selected to receive the 2014 Texas A&M University Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award at the university level and one aerospace faculty member was chosen for the college level award.

Dr. Helen Reed, Regents Professor, Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence, Director of AggieSat Lab Satellite Program and Director of Computational Stability and Transition Group, was selected for the university-level teaching achievement award.

Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas, Professor, Associate Vice Chancellor for Engineering Research, Senior Associate Dean for Research in the Dwight Look College of Engineering, and Deputy Director of the Texas Institute for Intelligent Materials and Structures, was selected for the university-level research achievement award.

Dr. David Hyland, Professor, Royce E. Wisenbaker Chair of Engineering, and Adjunct Professor of Physics, was selected for the college-level teaching achievement award.



Dr. Edward White, Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a recipient of the William and Montine P. Head Fellows Award by Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering.

Dr. White joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering in January 2007 and became the director of

the Oran Nicks Low Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT) in March 2011. Previously he served as an assistant and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU).

Dr. White’s research uses wind-tunnel experiments to explore boundary layer stability and transition, surface roughness and wind-turbine blade aerodynamics. His research has been funded by grants from the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the National Science Foundation, Sandia National Laboratory, Northrop Grumman and Vestas Wind Systems and has supported over 20 M.S. and Ph.D. students. The students’ work is conducted in the LSWT and the neighboring Klebanoff-Saric Wind Tunnel.

Dr. White teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in aerodynamics, fluid dynamics, aerodynamic design and experimental techniques. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and served as the Technical Chair of its 2011 Fluid Dynamics Conference. White received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University where he was involved in the swept-wing transition, stability and control studies. His masters and bachelors degrees are from CWRU.

Dr. Edward White Named William and Montine P. Head Fellow

Dr. Diego Donzis, Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, was selected as the 2013 winner of the Francois Frenkiel Award, a prestigious honor given by the American Physical Society (APS).

The purpose of the Frenkiel Award is to recognize significant contributions in fluid mechanics by young investigators. Named after Dr. F. N. Frenkiel, founder and long-time editor of Physics of Fluids, the award is sponsored

by the Division of Fluid Dynamics of the APS and is given annually to a young author of a paper that has been recently published in Physics of Fluids. Throughout his career, Frenkiel published extensively in the field of turbulent flows and pioneered the application of high-speed digital computing methods to the measurement of turbulence and the mathematical modeling of urban pollution.

Dr. Donzis was chosen for this award, which is among the top in the society, in recognition of the paper ``Shock-structure in shock-turbulence interactions’’ published in Physics of Fluids in 2012. The paper was selected for its potential impact in high-speed turbulent flows by derivation and validation of novel scaling arguments to characterized and quantify the shock-turbulence interactions. Donzis was presented the award at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics in November 2013.

Dr. Donzis joined the Aerospace Department in fall 2009. He earned his PhD from Georgia Tech and continued his research at the University of Maryland and the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Italy. His interests include turbulence and turbulence mixing at low and high speeds, massively parallel computational fluid dynamics, and high-performance computing. Dr. Donzis is currently also interested in turbulent flows with thermal non-equilibrium for which he was recently awarded a $2.2M project funded by AFOSR with a team including Drs. Bowersox (AERO), North (CHEM), and W. Hase (Texas Tech). In addition to the Frenkiel award, Dr. Donzis has recently received the NSF CAREER award, TEES Select Young Faculty, two INCITE awards by DOE, and best graduates from Argentina by the National Academy of Engineering of Argentina.

Donzis Receives Prestigious Francois Frenkiel Award


Lagoudas Named AIAA FellowDr. Dimitris C. Lagoudas has been named a 2014 Fellow by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The distinction of Fellow is conferred upon those members of the Institute who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.

“The title of AIAA Fellow is among the highest honors that one can earn in the aerospace community,” said AIAA President Mike Griffin. “It represents the acknowledgement of peers that one’s work is truly outstanding, and that you have made lasting contributions to significantly advancing the state-of-the art of aerospace science and technology.”

In 1933, Orville Wright became AIAA’s first Honorary Fellow. Today, AIAA Honorary Fellows and AIAA Fellows are the most respected names in the aerospace industry.

Dr. Lagoudas, associate vice chancellor for engineering research for The Texas A&M University System, senior associate dean for research in the Dwight Look College of Engineering and deputy director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and the director of the Texas Institute for Intelligent Materials and Structures, is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and the inaugural recipient of the John and Bea Slattery Chair in Aerospace Engineering. He joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1992. He earned a diploma in mechanical engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Lehigh University. He pursued post-doctoral studies in theoretical and applied physics/mechanics at Cornell University and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

His research involves the design, characterization and modeling of multifunctional material systems at nano, micro and macro levels to bridge the various length scales and functionalities. His research team is one of the most recognized internationally in the area of modeling and characterization of shape memory alloys. He has co-authored about 400 scientific publications. He is a TEES Fellow, a University Distinguished Professor, a Texas A&M University Faculty Fellow, an Associate Fellow of AIAA, and a Fellow of ASME, IOP and SES. He is recipient of the SPIE Smart Structure and Materials Lifetime Achievement Award and the ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Prize.

AIAA is the largest aerospace professional society in the world, serving a diverse range of more than 35,000 individual members from 80 countries, and 100 corporate members. AIAA members help make the world safer, more connected, more accessible, and more prosperous.

Presentation of the new Fellows and Honorary Fellows will take place at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, in Washington D.C.


Dr. Helen Reed Appointed Edward “Pete” Aldridge ‘60 Professorship

Dr. Helen Reed, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has been appointed to the endowed Edward “Pete” Aldridge ’60 Professorship in the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

This endowed professorship appointment is effective April 1, 2014 for a term of three years, with a $10,000 annual stipend, and is in recognition of Dr. Reed’s exceptional record as a researcher and educator.


Dr. Amine Benzerga named TEES fellows

Dr. Amine Benzerga, Associate Professor with the Department of Aerospace Engineering was among the thirteen faculty members in the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University recognized by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) as TEES Fellows.

The TEES Fellow designation recognizes established faculty members with a history of continuous performance. TEES is an engineering research agency of the State of Texas and a member of The Texas A&M University System. Texas A&M engineering faculty hold joint appointments as TEES researchers.


alumnI news

Mark Fischer Honored as Outstanding Alumni

The Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University honored six alumni on April 3 during the Outstanding Alumni Awards Banquet. Among the honorees was Mark A. Fischer ‘72 who received the Outstanding Alumni Honor Award. Fischer graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in aerospace engineering.

Fischer began his career with Humble Oil Company, now Exxon Company USA. In 1988, Fischer founded Chaparral Energy, Inc. as a privately held independent oil and gas product and exploration company with headquarters in Oklahoma City.

He has served as its chairman, chief executive officer and president since its inception. Chaparral Energy, under Fischer’s guidance, has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies and has been an Oklahoma City Metro 50 award winner eight times and Texas A&M 100 award winner four times.

Fischer is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute and has served as a director of the API from 1984-1986. In 2012, Fischer was a national finalist for the Ernest and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He sits on several non-profit organization boards including the Boy Scouts of America and he is currently serving on the Dwight Looking College of Engineering Advisory Council and the board of the Association of Former Students for Texas A&M.

Dr. Helen Reed Named Regents Professor

In what has been an outstanding year for her, Dr. Helen Reed, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a Regents Professor by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, one of 13 professors within the Texas A&M University System.

“The Regents Awards allow us to show our outstanding faculty and researchers that we value their contribution to the A&M System,” said Board Chairman Phil Adams. “It is their commitment to excellence that makes the A&M System one of America’s very best.”

“Our staff, faculty and researchers are the backbone of the A&M System. This is an excellent opportunity for us to recognize the significant contributions these individuals make each day not only in the A&M System, but all over the world,” said A&M System Chancellor John Sharp.

This endowed professorship appointment is effective

April 1, 2014 for a term of three years, with a $10,000 annual stipend, and is in recognition of Dr. Reed’s exceptional record as a researcher and educator.

The Board established the Regents Professor Award program in 1996 to recognize employees who have made exemplary contributions to their university or agency and to the citizens of Texas.


Aggie-led Team Wins World Championship

If you thought setting a Guinness World Record for building a 44-foot-tall playable guitar was impressive, try leading a high school robotics team to victory against 10,000 competitors at the FIRST—For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology—World Championship.

Scott Rippetoe ’82 successfully led the Texas Torque robotics team to their first World Championship, competing against 400 teams from across the world. The three-day championship event took place at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo., with a rowdy crowd of 25,000. This year’s robot challenge consisted of climbing a pyramid and throwing as many Frisbee disks into a goal as possible, within a 2-minute-and-15- second match.

The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams to solve a common problem in a six-week time frame using a standard “kit of parts” and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in competitions. Rippetoe has coached and mentored Texas Torque, composed of students from Conroe, The Woodlands and other North Houston-area schools, to several state and regional championships, but this was the team’s first world title. “There are some great teams in FIRST Robotics that have never won the World Championship,” Rippetoe said.

Texas Torque lost in the semifinals of their third competition of the season. “Lots of tears were shed,” Rippetoe said. But after one of the team’s sponsors contributed $2,500, Texas Torque had the opportunity to compete in the next competition. From that point on, the team went undefeated, culminating in the world title in May.

Rippetoe—or Mr. Rip, according to his students—has taught physics and advanced mathematics at four different high schools in the Houston area. His enthusiasm and leadership has made a lasting impression on his students and community. “Mr. Rippetoe has taught me more than just physics and engineering excellence,” said high school junior Chase Noren. “He’s motivated me to dedicate my life to engineering the future.”

In 2012, Rippetoe received the Woodie Flowers Award for his dedication to student mentorship and his contributions to Texas Torque. In a nomination letter, a colleague said Rippetoe is “passionate about everything, and

passes that passion on to everyone around him.”

“To be included in the company of those who received this award is a great thing,” Rippetoe said. “The students play a major role in competitions and learning experience; I just do what I do the best way I can.”

Rippetoe graduated from Texas A&M in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, then again in 1990 with a master’s degree in educational curriculum and instruction. He said he developed a sense of self-sufficiency and camaraderie while experiencing on-campus life in Walton Hall, one of Texas A&M’s oldest remaining dorms. “The dorms didn’t have air conditioning units back then, so we’d like to think we were a bit tougher than most,” he said.

After studying aerospace engineering for most of his collegiate career, Rippetoe had no intention of teaching. It wasn’t until his senior year that he realized his passion for teaching physics and physical science. After visits with Robert Chilton, one of his most influential professors, and his advisor, Dr. Robert Clark, he realized that it was possible to teach his love of physics without abandoning the field of engineering.

Today, Scott Rippetoe has 30 years of experience teaching advanced physics, mathematics and electronics, including the past 22 at The Academy of Science and Technology in Conroe. After winning the robotics world championship and earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for building the world’s largest playable guitar, Rippetoe retired at the end of May to focus on his dream job: coaching robotics.

“Deciding to retire from classroom teaching was difficult, but I am so excited about next year and bringing what I enjoy about robotics to students and teachers throughout our school district,” Rippetoe said.

Article by Trey Bodwin, photograph by J. Patric Schneider

alumnI news


GIvInG

Carol McQuien has established the Larry J. McQuien ‘76 “Take Flight Award,” a scholarship for undergraduate students studying aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University in memory of her late husband. Larry McQuien, a Fort Worth resident and executive at Lockheed Martin, died tragically after being struck by a car during a morning bike ride.

McQuien earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M in 1976 and 1977, and he graduated cum laude and summa cum laude, respectively. He then began a career in the engineering department at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. (then General Dynamics Fort Worth Division). With the realization that he wanted to balance his engineering background with stronger business acumen, McQuien headed back to school, this time to Texas Tech University for a law degree. While there, he met Carol, who had attended the University of Texas as an undergraduate. The pair married and moved back to Fort Worth. McQuien returned to Lockheed Martin where he eventually became vice president of business ventures.

“It’s comforting to know that Larry’s name will be attached to Texas A&M’s aerospace engineering program forever,” said Carol McQuien. “I don’t want him to just fade away.”

McQuien says her husband was a natural mentor to young people. She recalls a conversation with a young woman during a Texas A&M tailgate. “I asked her what she was studying, and she said she was a senior in aerospace engineering. I said, ‘This is your lucky day. That man standing over there is my husband, and he is a vice president at Lockheed!’ Well, I didn’t talk to her again the whole night. She went over to him and stuck to him like glue.”

Carol McQuien hopes the recipient of the “Take Flight Award” will not only possess “book smarts,” but also will be easy to talk to and involved in the community. “If Larry was alive today, he’d tell these students to do well in school but also to be well-rounded, to have people skills,” she said. “He’d tell them to develop their relationships outside of work.”

To be selected for the scholarship, students must be within the top 15 percent of their junior class and active in extracurricular activities. Applicants also must complete an essay addressing their aspirations in aerospace engineering as well as their thoughts on why Larry McQuien was a leader in the industry.

The first recipient of the scholarship will be announced this spring and will receive the award for the 2014-2015 school year.

Monschke Scholarship to Aid Aerospace Undergraduates

Richard Monschke of Fort Worth, Texas, has endowed a $25,000 scholarship designed for students pursuing a degree in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University.

“We are grateful for Mr. Monschke’s support of the aerospace department and its students,” said Andy Acker, senior director of development for the Texas A&M Foundation. “The support we receive from our former students is vital to the college’s efforts to provide students with affordable educational opportunities.”

Undergraduate students wishing to apply for the Richard A. Monschke ’65 Scholarship should be member of the Corps of Cadets and a graduate of a Texas high school. Recipients will be selected in accordance with university policy on the basis of academic achievement and extracurricular involvement.

Monschke earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 1965 and was a member of the Corps during his time as a student.

Article by Lindsay Miles

Widow of Lockheed Martin Executive Endows Scholarship in His Honor

Worsham ‘88 Establishes ScholarshipBradley L. Worsham ‘88, co-founder of BIT Systems, a high-tech research and development company based in Virginia, has established the Brad Worsham ‘88 Scholarship for undergraduate students in the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Undergraduate students wishing to apply for this scholarship should have at least a 3.75 GPA at the time of selection and are expected to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA to continue on scholarship. Two scholarships will be awards, and preference will go to a member of the Corps of Cadets and to female students where possible. Participation in high school athletics is also a preference.

Giving is Easier than EverMore than 20 percent of Texas A&M students receive scholarship support. In addition to giving students the extra money and time they need to excel in their studies, scholarship programs help the university recruit top students. The criteria for recipient selection may be designated by donors. To discuss setting up a scholarship, or to make a donation to the Department of Aerospace Engineering, contact Reagan Chessher, Director of Development, at [email protected] or 979.862.1936.


Department of Aerospace EngineeringDr. Rodney Bowersox, Department Head701 H.R. Bright Building3141 TAMUCollege Station, TX 77843-3141979.845.7541

http://engineering.tamu.edu/aerospace

Aerospace Engineering Annual Awards Banquet

April 30, 2014 @ 6:00 p.m.Pebble Creek Country Club, 4500 Pebble Creek Pkwy, College Station

Cost is $25 per person, $15 for studentsALL tickets MUST be purchased in advance! No tickets will be sold at the door.

Dress is business casual.We look forward to seeing you and hope that you will be able to attend!

Please RSVP at engineeringnetwork.tamu.edu/spring2014 and purchase tickets by April 18th. For any questions, contact Jan McHarg at [email protected] or 979.845.0516

or Laura Olivarez at [email protected] or 979.845.2685.

You are cordially invited to attend the

Documents

Spring 2014 Aerospace Engineering News