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Texas A&M University College of Engineering

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.

VSCL Senior Alexander Gross Receives College of Engineering Fellowship

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Hannah Lehman

VSCL Undergraduate Research Assistant Alex Gross is one of two AERO student recipients of the new College of Engineering Horizons: 21 Fellowships for 21st Century Scholars (EHDF). The EHDF provides 21 research fellowships for domestic students beginning their PhD program at Texas A&M University. This fellowship includes a $30,000 fellowship stipend provided by the College of Engineering (COE) during the first year of doctoral studies, full tuition and required student fees for full-time enrollment, a professional development scholarship of $1,500 for first year, mentorship, and funding provided by the Department of Aerospace Engineering via a Graduate Assistantship (Teaching or Research) during subsequent years.

Gross is an Engineering Honors undergraduate student pursuing his B.S. degree in aerospace engineering with minors in mathematics and computer science.  He is currently a Year-Round Undergraduate Research and Development Intern at Sandia National Laboratories, working on the  Autonomy for Hypersonics program.  Gross is a recipient of the prestigious AIAA Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship, the Herman F. Heep Scholarship, the Benjamin R and Deaana J Smith Scholarship, and the Dean’s Honor Roll.  Gross is currently President of the TAMU AIAA Student Branch, and Secretary of the TAMU Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.  He is a 2020 award-Winning Proposal recipient of the  L’SPACE NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience Academy.

Gross has been a member of VSCL since 2020 and is currently working on the research project Enhancing the Cycle-of-Learning for Autonomous Systems to Facilitate Human-Agent Teaming , and he has contributed to the Autonomous Intelligent Detection Tracking and Recognition (AIDTR)  and Agile Technology Development (ATD)  – Air-Ground Coordinated Teaming  projects.  He also Investigated and developed reinforcement learning algorithms for training of Mars rover vehicles for NASA JPL.  His research interests are on UAS autonomous guidance and landing, embedded systems, and user-interface integration.  His goal is to work in the aerospace industry as a vehicle guidance, navigation and control engineer for spaceflight vehicles.

Filed Under: Awards

VSCL Alumnus Bowers Awarded Northrop Grumman Fellow

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Garrett Jares

Roshawn Bowers ’03 & ’05, a former student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a Northrop Grumman Fellow for Vehicle Management Systems and Flight Control Systems Integration. She is also co-sponsoring a new program at Northrop Grumman that focuses on recruiting and retaining women in senior technical roles. Bowers is currently an engineering manager who leads the development of advanced engineering systems for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems in San Diego, California.

“I am very fortunate to have had great teachers and mentors to help me along the way,” said Bowers. “I feel like I got a first-class education at Texas A&M, and I don’t believe any other university could have prepared me better for my career.”

As an undergraduate and graduate student, Bowers conducted research in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory with Dr. John Valasek, professor in the aerospace engineering department. She researched relative navigation systems and assisted with flight testing of an unmanned powered parachute vehicle for NASA’s X-38 project. At the conclusion of her graduate degree, she defended her Master of Science thesis titled “Estimation algorithm for autonomous aerial refueling utilizing a vision based relative navigation system” in April 2005 and then joined Northrop Grumman.

Previously, Bowers had done co-op tours at Lockheed Martin Space Operations in Houston on the International Space Station Extravehicular Activity Test Team and the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems team. She also did a co-op on the F-16 Block 60 program for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas.

While in school at Texas A&M, Bowers researched the Automatic Carrier Landing System as a member of the Engineering Scholars Program and received the Texas A&M Graduate Merit Fellowship and the Isadore Roosth ’33 Engineering Scholarship. She was the chairman of Sigma Gamma Tau, the Aerospace Engineering Honor Society, and a member of Phi Eta Sigma, the Freshman Honor Society. Bowers participated in the Texas A&M Engineering High School Conference, Help One Student To Succeed (HOSTS), and Aggie Replant.

The official College of Engineering press release can be found here.

Filed Under: Awards

Graduate Student Maison Clouatre awarded National Defense Science Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSFGR)

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Garrett Jares

Maison ClouatreMaison Clouatre, a graduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received two prestigious awards, the 2022 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship and the 2022 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP).  Clouatre selected the NDSEG Fellowship, which is awarded annually to students in recognition of their academic excellence and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) achievements.  Awardees receive full tuition and coverage for all mandatory fees for up to three years at any accredited U.S. college or university that provides advanced degrees in science and engineering, as well as a monthly stipend of $3,400.

Clouatre, a Ph.D. student, graduated in May 2022 with a double major in electrical engineering and mathematics from Mercer University.  He is both a Goldwater Scholar and Stamps Scholar, and previously held visiting research positions in the Electronic Systems (ELSYS) Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems (LIDS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Clouatre is co-advised by professor John Valasek in the aerospace engineering department, and professor Mark Balas in the mechanical engineering department.  He first experienced engineering at Texas A&M University as an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) student in 2019, working with Valasek in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory (VSCL).  Clouatre says “It is an overwhelming honor to receive the support of both NSF GRFP and DoD NDSEG.  However, without Professor Valasek, who has persistently invested in me since I was a freshman in college, these awards would not be possible.  His most recent investment was introducing me to Professor Balas—a kind mentor and truly keen mind.  After carefully considering both awards, I zealously look forward to using the NDSEG fellowship to innovate alongside Valasek and Balas as a graduate student at Texas A&M University.”

Clouatre’s research interests lie at the intersection of control theory, optimization, and learning, and he ventures to use these techniques to engineer advanced quantum information devices.  His NDSEG application identified a major hurdle for moving beyond Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices: quantum bits which are strongly coupled with their environment.  In such regimes, a quantum bit dissipates quantum information into its environment and limits the lifetime of data stored in the qubit’s state.  Clouatre will use the NDSEG fellowship to work with Professors Valasek and Balas to develop new quantum control schemes which mitigate environmental couplings and lead to more robust quantum information units.

Valasek says that Clouatre “Maison is an exceptional person, and student, that personifies ‘hard work really does pay off’.  He brings tremendous energy and enthusiasm to learning and research, and especially elevates the experience of everyone around him.  I enjoyed working with him very much during REU, and now that he is attending TAMU for his doctorate I get to work with him every day.  We are very fortunate to have him in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory.”

Filed Under: Awards

VSCL Graduate Student Maison Clouatre is Awarded Avilés-Johnson Fellowship

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Garrett Jares

Maison ClouatreVSCL Graduate Student Maison Clouatre has been awarded the Avilés-Johnson Fellowship – Doctoral. The fellowship citation states “Texas A&M University believes that diversity is an indispensable component of academic excellence. The Dr. Dionel Avilés ’53 and Dr. James Johnson ’67 Fellowship Program seeks to increase diversity in the graduate and professional student population at Texas A&M University and support the development of high achieving scholars who show promise of distinguished careers for the benefit of all students.”

Clouatre is grateful to be awarded the fellowship, and says “I am most humbled by my selection as an Avilés-Johnson fellow, and I am thankful to be part of a department and university that celebrates diversity. I am also thankful for Dr. John Valasek and his continued efforts—since I was an undergraduate freshman—to mentor me and recruit me to Texas A&M. His kindness is representative of the Texas A&M community and his efforts reflect the core values behind the Avilés-Johnson fellowship program.”

Maison Clouatre is an incoming Ph.D. student in the aerospace engineering department. He will graduate in May 2022 with a double major in electrical engineering and mathematics from Mercer University. As an undergraduate, Clouatre held visiting research positions in the Electronic Systems (ELSYS) Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory (VSCL) at Texas A&M University, and the Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems (LIDS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research interests lay at the intersection of control theory, optimization, and learning, and he focuses on applying his theory to the fields of quantum information science and aerospace engineering. Clouatre is both a Goldwater Scholar and Stamps Scholar. At VSCL, Clouatre will research quantum control and learning for quantum dynamics.

Filed Under: Awards

VSCL Undergraduates Awarded Scholarships at Fall Aerospace Engineering Award Ceremony

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Garrett Jares

VSCL undergraduates Alex Gross ’23, Cassie-Kay McQuinn ’21, and Leah Davis ’22 were awarded Aerospace Engineering Scholarships at the Fall Aerospace Engineering Award ceremony this semester.

VSCL undergraduate students Alex Gross ’23 and Leah Davis ’22 were awarded the Benjamin R and Deanna J Smith Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to 5 outstanding undergraduate students selected by the donors for their academic merit. Alex is a Junior in Aerospace Engineering with minors in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is expected to graduate in May 2023 and has been a member of VSCL since Spring 2020. Leah Davis will graduate in May 2022.

VSCL undergraduate Cassie-Kay McQuinn ’21 was awarded the Aerospace Engineering Advisory Board Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M. Selection criteria includes: leadership/professional involvement, academic success and service to the department. Cassie is a Senior and will graduate in December from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with Engineering Honors. She has been a member of VSCL since Spring 2021 and will be continuing her work with VSCL as a Master of Science student in Spring 2022.

Filed Under: Awards, New Items

Two VSCL Current and Former VSCL Members Co-Inventors on Newly Awarded Patent

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Hannah Lehman

VSCL alumni Felix Turcios and current VSCL Ph.D. student Hannah Lehman are co-inventors on newly awarded US Patent 11,094,211, “Judgmental oversteering taxi aid system and method ”. The system creates a UI and integration system to guide the pilot for an autonomous taxi assistance program. The program is designed to help pilots taxi around airports, especially in situations where oversteer is required and may be difficult for the pilot to properly judge.

Felix Turcios
Hannah Lehman

Felix Turcios currently works at Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids Iowa as a Sr. Systems Engineer. Hannah Lehman is a former Collins Aerospace summer intern with Felix’s team in the Advanced Concepts Group.

Click here to view the patent.

Filed Under: Awards

VSCL Undergrad Alex Gross receives AIAA Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship

Posted on September 6, 2021 by Hannah Lehman

Alex Gross, a Junior Aerospace engineering student, has been awarded the prestigious AIAA Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship. Gross has been a member of VSCL since 2020 and has focused his research on UAS autonomous guidance and landing, embedded systems, and user-interface integration. Read more about this award in the Texas A&M Engineering announcement.

Filed Under: Awards

VSCL undergraduate Alex Gross recognized for scholastic and research excellence with AIAA Foundation Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Hannah Lehman

VSCL Undergraduate researcher Alexander Gross ‘23 is the recipient of the AIAA Foundation Cary Spitzer Digital Avionics Scholarship for his research contributions on the Aided Threat Recognition from Mobile Cooperative and Autonomous Sensors project and in applications of the Cycle-of-Learning methodology for training of Mars rover vehicles and their interaction with human operators. He is currently working towards his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with minors in Computer Science and Mathematics while in Engineering Honors. He has been conducting research in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory under Dr. Valasek since his sophomore year.

Filed Under: Awards

Three VSCL Engineers Co-Inventors on new US Patent for Autonomous Aircraft Taxiing

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Hannah Lehman

VSCL alumni Tiffany Williamson and Felix Turcios and current VSCL Ph.D. student Hannah Lehman are co-inventors on newly awarded US Patent 11,037,455, “Autonomous judgmental oversteering determination system for aircraft taxiing”. The system uses reinforcement learning  to create a system for an autonomous taxi assistance program. The program is designed to help pilots taxi around airports, especially in situations where oversteer is required and may be difficult for the pilot to properly judge.

Tiffany Williamson
Felix Turcios
Hannah Lehman

Tiffany Williamson and Felix Turcios currently work at Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids Iowa as an Engineering Leader and Sr. Systems Engineer respectively. Hannah Lehman is a former Collins Aerospace summer intern with Tiffany and Felix in the Advanced Concepts Group. The team is expecting one more patent for the autonomous taxiing user interface in conjunction with this project.

Click here to view the patent.

Filed Under: Awards

VSCL Graduate Student Chris Leshikar Awarded PhD Graduate Excellence Fellowship

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Garrett Jares

Chris Leshikar ’20, a graduate research assistant in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory (VSCL), has been awarded the PhD Graduate Excellence Fellowship for Spring/Summer 2021. This competitive fellowship awards $20,000 over the span of 8 months , in addition to covering tuition and fees. All graduate research assistants within the department of aerospace engineering pursuing a PhD starting in Spring 2021 were considered for this Fellowship.

Leshikar has been an active member of VSCL since Spring 2017, focusing on system identification and nonlinear multiple-time-scale control theory. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering with Engineering Honors in December 2020. As a graduate research assistant in VSCL, Leshikar will be focusing his research on control of uncertain nonlinear multiple-time-scale systems and near real-time online system identification. Dr. John Valasek will serve as his research Advisor and Chair of dissertation committee.

Filed Under: Awards

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