Awards

Graduate Special Achievements

  • (7) National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship recipients
  • (6) National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) recipients
  • (1) Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation Fellowship (SMART) recipient
  • (1) U.S. Army Research Laboratory (USARL) Research Associateship Program (RAP) recipient
  • (1) Caltech Space Challenge recipient
  • (1) Texas A&M University Distinguished Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research – PhD Level
  • (1) Aerospace Engineering Department Graduate Research Excellence Award – PhD Level
  • (1) College of Engineering Outstanding Engineering Master of Science Graduate Student Award
  • (7) Texas A&M University Graduate Merit Fellowship Recipients
  • (2) Travel Award to Present at Professional Conference (IFAC)
  • (4) Graduate placers (two 1st , one 2nd, one 3rd) Texas A&M Student Research Week Competition
  • (7) Graduate placers (four 1st, two 2nd, two 3rd) Regional AIAA Student Paper Conferences

Undergraduate Special Achievements

  • (2) NASA Aeronautics Undergraduate Scholarship Recipients
  • (1) AIAA Spirit of Apollo Scholarship recipient
  • (1) University Scholar, highest undergraduate scholastic ranking at Texas A&M University
  • (2) Texas A&M University Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • (2) Texas A&M University Undergraduate Research Scholars
  • (1) Gathright Scholar, top Junior in the College of Engineering
  • (10) Texas A&M Undergraduate Engineering Honors Research Scholars
  • (9) Undergraduate placers (three 1st, four 2nd, five 3rd ) Regional AIAA Student Paper Conferences
  • (1) Undergraduate team 1st place winner Regional AIAA Student Paper Conferences
  • (3) Undergraduate placers (one 2nd, two 3rd ) AIAA Airplane Design Competitions

For more awards, see below.

Valasek Inducted Into Cal Poly Engineering Hall of Fame

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Dr. John Valasek, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and director of the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame, College of Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Valasek was one of nine engineering alumni so honored.  The college’s Hall of Fame recognizes, honors, and preserves the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of alumni engineers and engineering technologists who have distinguished themselves in the community through leadership and professional achievement. From helping usher in the era of digital television to guiding the development of California’s most recognizable structures, each inductee has made meaningful contributions deserving of honor and preservation.

Valasek graduated with the B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly, Pomona in 1986.  While a student at Cal Poly he served as Chairman of the AIAA Student Branch, and was the Student Chairman of the 1985 AIAA Region VI Student Paper Conference.  He worked part-time during his senior year in the Flight Controls Research Group at Northrop Corporation, Aircraft Division, before joining that group at Northrop upon graduation.

Valasek Appointed to Dean’s Leadership Board

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Valasek, John

Dr. John Valasek, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and director of the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been appointed to the Dean’s Leadership Board (DLB) of the College of Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The DLB is an advisory board of high-level executives that bring their expertise and knowledge in their respective engineering fields. This group of alumni and industry experts secure resources for the college and to help define its strategies and goals.

 

Valasek graduated with the B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly, Pomona in 1986.  While a student at Cal Poly he served as Chairman of the AIAA Student Branch, and was the Student Chairman of the 1985 AIAA Region VI Student Paper Conference.  He worked part-time during his senior year in the Flight Controls Research Group at Northrop Corporation, Aircraft Division, before joining that group at Northrop upon graduation.

VSCL Alumni Vinicius G. Goecks Receives Best Student Paper Award

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VSCL paper “Combining Visible and Infrared Spectrum Imagery using Machine Learning for Small Unmanned Aerial System Detection”, by Vinicius G. Goecks, Grayson Woods, and John Valasek, has been selected as the winner of the 2020 SPIE Automatic Target Recognition Best Student Paper Award. This paper presented a novel approach to combine data from RGB and long-wave infrared (LWIR) cameras to detect drones through previously difficult environments such as flying above and below the treeline/horizon, in the presence of birds, and glare from the sun.

“The main insight of our approach is that it enables detection and tracking of vehicles at any time of the day, around-the-clock, and in real-time.” says Dr. Goecks. “It also can be built on top of any existing camera system with minimal computation overhead.”

A summary video of the system can be found here, along with videos with all predictions for the single-vehicle case and multiple-vehicle case.

The paper was presented at the 2020 SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing Conference Digital Forum held 27 April – 8 May 2020. The paper is available at the SPIE Digital Library and the preprint version is available at arXiv.

Long-wave Infrared and Visible Spectrum sensors

VSCL graduate student Garrett Jares Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

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Garrett Jares, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and Graduate Research Assistant in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been awarded a 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.  The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.  NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering.

Garrett earned the BS degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University with a minor in Cybersecurity and a minor in Mathematics, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2017. He has been working in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory (VSCL) with his advisor, Dr. John Valasek, since his undergraduate senior capstone project in 2017. During his undergraduate education, Garrett studied extensively in cybersecurity including research in cryptography topics. Garrett’s work with VSCL has been developing embedded systems for Unmanned Air Systems (UAS), and overseeing the operation of the Engineering Flight Simulator Laboratory.  Garrett is combining his undergraduate knowledge with his experience in VSCL to investigate Cybersecurity for air and space vehicles.

Garrett’s doctoral dissertation will investigate cyber-attacks designed that are designed to take control of an aircraft by targeting the vehicle’s sensor data.  This research will help identify and better understand the vulnerabilities in current systems and develop safeguards against such attacks.  Garrett is a recipient of the Crawford & Hattie Jackson Foundation Scholarship, the Edward C. Clay ’47 Memorial Scholarship, and the 2018 Lechner Graduate Fellowship.

VSCL undergraduate Hannah Lehman awarded Texas A&M University College of Engineering Graduate Merit Fellowship for 2020- 2023

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Hannah Lehman ‘20, a senior in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and an undergraduate research assistant of the Texas A&M Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been awarded the Texas A&M University College of Engineering Graduate Merit Fellowship for 2020- 2023.  This highly competitive fellowship funds $30,000 per year for 3-4 years (Ph.D.) in addition to health insurance costs, and tuition and fees.  All competitive domestic applicants who applied for a fall semester matriculation are considered for this prestigious fellowship. One student is awarded for each participating department. 

Dr. John Valasek will serve as her research Advisor and Chair of dissertation committee.  As a Graduate Research Assistant Hannah will research Tightly Integrated Navigation and Guidance for Multiple Autonomous Agents, which is sponsored by Sandia National Laboratory.  She will also do a 2020 summer internship at Sandia National Laboratory.

Hannah has been an active member of VSCL since Fall 2017, focusing on human-machine interaction and the control of UAS with Machine Learning.  She will graduate with the B.S. degree in aerospace engineering as a University Scholar, University Honors, and Engineering Honors in May 2020.  She has been awarded the 2019/2020 AIAA Foundation Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship, the 2019 Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior in the College of Engineering, and placed 1st in the 2018 AIAA Region IV Student Paper Conference. 

VSCL undergraduate Hannah Lehman to pursue Ph.D. in aerospace engineering starting Fall 2020

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Hannah Lehman ‘20, a senior in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and an undergraduate research assistant of the Texas A&M Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has accepted a Graduate Research Fellowship and will join the Ph.D. program in aerospace engineering in Fall 2020.  Dr. John Valasek will serve as her research Advisor and Chair of dissertation committee.  As a Graduate Research Assistant Hannah will research Tightly Integrated Navigation and Guidance for Multiple Autonomous Agents, which is sponsored by Sandia National Laboratory.  She will also do a 2020 summer internship at Sandia National Laboratory.

Hannah has been an active member of VSCL since Fall 2017, focusing on human-machine interaction and the control of UAS with Machine Learning.  She will graduate with the B.S. degree in aerospace engineering as a University Scholar, University Honors, and Engineering Honors in May 2020.  She has been awarded the 2019/2020 AIAA Foundation Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship, the 2019 Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior in the College of Engineering, and placed 1st in the 2018 AIAA Region IV Student Paper Conference.   

VSCL graduate student Blake Krpec awarded 2019-2020 ORAU fellowship by US Army Research Laboratory (ARL)

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Blake Krpec, a master’s student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and graduate research assistant of the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been awarded the Journeyman Fellowship by the Army Research Lab (ARL).  It is presented to a graduate student interested in combining computer vision and control techniques. Specifically, this fellowship is intended to investigate forms of vision based control that will enable UAS (unmanned air systems) to autonomously navigate relative to another UAS that has been detected.  “Attempts have been made to address this problem, however they fell short of being able to track a target in real time, or were so computationally expensive that image classification and control techniques had to be computed off-board and sent to the vehicle via some wireless communication method. This use of a more powerful computer on the ground introduces strict infrastructure restrictions on the real world implementation of the solution. Our approach aims to perform all necessary computations on board the vehicle so that our solution could be implemented almost anywhere,” says Blake. “I would like to think Dr. John Valasek for supporting my pursuit of this fellowship, and supporting my research interest in this field. Also, I would like to think the Army Research Laboratory for presenting me with this opportunity, welcoming me on its facilities, and for funding this work.”

Blake has been working with his advisor, Dr. John Valasek, since the fall semester of his sophomore year (Fall 2016) as an undergraduate research assistant assisting in flight test validation of UAS, as well as the integration of various sensors and on board computers. He has earned his B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in May 2019 and began working on his masters in August 2019. Blake’s main research interests include computer vision, controls using computer vision, and traditional controls applied to unmanned air systems.

VSCL undergraduate Hannah Lehman recognized for scholastic and research excellence at national and college of engineering levels

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Hannah Lehman ‘20, a senior in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and an undergraduate research assistant of the Texas A&M Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been awarded the AIAA Foundation Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship for the 2019/2020 academic year.  She is being recognized for her outstanding academic record and her research contributions in Reinforcement Learning for the intelligent control of Unmanned Air Systems.  The scholarship is awarded annually to a college student in good academic standing who is pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering, or aeronautical engineering.

Hannah was recognized as the 2019 Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior in the College of Engineering.  Each year, the deans in each college are asked to select the most outstanding student from among all the juniors in their respective colleges based on research and/or creative production, community engagement, accomplishments/awards, and academic record, with the final selection criteria determined by the dean of each respective college.  Named in honor of the first president of the A&M College of Texas, it was established in April 1973 by The Association of Former Students in conjunction with Texas A&M’s Student Government Association.  As of Spring 2019, this award has become a collaboration between The Association of Former Students, LAUNCH: Academic Excellence, and the Texas A&M chapter of Phi Kappa Phi and has been renamed the “Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior” award.

 

Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory Awarded Patent for Design of Unmanned Air System

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Dr. John Valasek and Co-Inventors Andrew Beckett, James F. May, and Cecil C. Rhodes with research team and Pegasus at RELLIS Campus hangar.

A team of inventors from the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, in the Department of Aerospace Engineering A&M University, have been awarded U.S. Patent 9,957,035 for Un-Manned Aerial Vehicle Having Adjustable Wing Module, Tail, and Landing Gear. The Pegasus Unmanned Air System (UAS) was conceived, specified, designed, built, and flown by the team of Dr. John Valasek, Professor, Graduate Research Assistants Andrew Beckett and James F. May, and A&P Technician and Flight Mechanics Specialist Cecil C. Rhodes Jr. Pegasus was conceived as the Control Systems Integration Testbed (CONSINT) for researching and evaluating fault tolerant adaptive control laws, autoland control laws, and a variety airborne sensors for imaging and tracking missions.

Video of the Pegasus flight operations can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/NWg24afA5GU

The Pegasus patent can be viewed here: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9957035B2/en

 

Pegasus has 80+ flights at the Texas A&M University RELLIS campus, out of its design life of 300 takeoff and landing cycles. The airframe has a wing span of 12 feet and is designed to 7g limit maneuvering load factor and has a maximum takeoff weight of 108 pounds. Pegasus can carry 30 pounds of payload in the nose and fuselage payload bay, which has a volume of 12U half-width rack chassis. Pegasus features variable static stability with a positionable wing location on the fuselage and multiple redundant control surfaces: 8 ailerons, 2 elevators, 2 rudders, and throttle. Pegasus has a stall speed at maximum takeoff weight of 26 knots and a maximum speed of 90 knots. The endurance is 1+ hour depending upon fuel system configuration.

 

 

Valasek elected chair of AIAA Intelligent Systems Technical Committee

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Dr. John Valasek, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and director of the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory, has been elected the chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Intelligent Systems Technical Committee (ISTC).

The ISTC addresses the application of Intelligent System (IS) technologies and methods to aerospace systems, the verification and validation of these systems, and the education of the AIAA membership in the use of IS technologies in aerospace and other technical disciplines.

Please see the full announcement by Jan McHarg on the Texas A&M College of Engineering website, here: https://engineering.tamu.edu/news/2019/01/valasek-elected-chair-of-aiaa-intelligent-systems-technical-committee.html 

Valasek, John

Dr. John Valasek