UT Arlington Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

If you are out and about in Arlington, you may come across UTA Racing displays out in the community!

UTA Racing on Display in the Arlington Community UTA Racing has vehicles on display at the Arlington Museum of Art and at the Junior Achievement Expo in the coming weeks!

NASA invests in UTA materials research for safer flight Project develops reusable materials to withstand extreme landings and impacts

David Reynoso, a current UT Arlington Aerospace PhD Student, recently received an invitation from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to the NNSA Fellowship Program. He will be joining the staff of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program (NGFP) identifies and develops the next generation of exceptional national security leaders to achieve the NNSA mission: Strengthening our nation through nuclear security.

https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/ngfp

Please join the UTA MAE Department in congratulating David and his supervising professor, Dr. Haiying Huang, on this outstanding achievement! Keep soaring to new heights!

Two doctoral students from Dr. Paul Davidson’s Laboratory for Advanced Material, Manufacturing, and Analysis (LAMMA) were recognized with Student Paper Awards at the 2026 AIAA SciTech Conference, held in Orlando, Florida.

It is uncommon for multiple students from the same research group to receive Student Paper Awards in the same year, making this recognition a notable achievement for the LAMMA research group.

Sandesh Amgai received the AIAA Harry H. and Lois G. Hilton Student Paper Award in Structures. His research focuses on the structural optimization of additively manufactured aerospace panels with spatially varying thickness. Using a semi-analytical framework and multi-objective optimization, his work demonstrates more than 30% improvement in buckling performance for constant-weight designs, highlighting the potential of additive manufacturing for lightweight, high-performance structural systems.

Oscar Valdez Loya received the AIAA Lockheed Martin Student Paper Award in Structures. His research investigates the combined effects of boundary compliance and progressive damage evolution on the low-velocity impact response of composite laminates. Through experimentally validated numerical modeling, the study demonstrates the importance of accurately representing boundary conditions and damage mechanisms to achieve realistic predictions of impact response and damage morphology.

These awards recognize outstanding student scholarship within the AIAA Structures Technical Community.

This work was supported by the University of Texas System STARS program and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Congratulations to Sandesh, Oscar, and Dr. Davidson on these remarkable achievements!

Reducing traumatic injuries on the high seas UTA researcher leads project to protect Navy sailors operating high-speed boats

UTA Racing Formula SAE hosted the exciting and successful Texas Autocross Weekend on Oct. 17-19 at UT Arlington!

Including SCCA and sponsors, 438 people registered for Saturday's racing event. UTA FSAE also opened their rooms and shop for tours on Friday night and the hallways were packed full of visitors!

As a part of the SAE Industrial Lecture Program, we were honored to have Dean Case from Southern California present "The History of FSAE" and a lecture titled "Your Path to Employment in Motorsports and Automotive Engineering." Dean has had an extensive career in Motorsports and is an active facilitator for SAE students pursuing a career in the automotive sector.

Other Universities who participated in the event included Texas A&M University, University of North Texas, University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, University of Houston, University of Kansas, Wichita State University, Midwestern State University, University of Texas at Dallas, and Texas State University.

We all owe appreciation to the sponsors of this event: Mouser Electronics (BBQ Saturday and snacks and swag Saturday morning), Matt Travis of UT Old Guys (toilets), Taylor Race (Friday social), Sawyer Composite (T-shirts), Toyota (Saturday night pizza and guest lecturer from SAE), Motivo, EControls, the Texas Section of SAE, Red Bull, UTA physical plant, and UTA FSAE. Through these sponsors, there was no registration fee, and all food and t-shirts were free.

If you are interested in getting involved with UTA Racing or want to know how you can donate to next year's Texas Autocross Event, please contact Dr. Bob Woods ([email protected])

We are excited to watch this event continue to grow in the years to come!

Dr. Abhishek Kashyap received a Rising Star Award from the ASME Dynamics and Control Systems Division (DCSD), at the MECC (Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference) in Pittsburgh, PA, on October 6, 2025.

He was selected for the award based on his Ph.D. work, and gave an invited talk titled “Analysis and Detection of Cyberattacks in Traffic Systems using Macroscopic Models”, at the Rising Stars Special Session conducted at the MECC Conference.

According to ASME DSCD, “The DSCD Rising Stars talks are designed to help kick-start the careers of postdocs and senior Ph.D. students nearing graduation. Selections are made based on the applicant’s CV, the quality and potential impact of their prior work, and alignment with conference themes.”

Dr. Kashyap obtained his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in 2024, as a student in the Guidance and Control of Autonomous Systems Lab (GCASL), supervised by Prof. Animesh Chakravarthy. He is currently working as a Postdoctoral associate in GCASL. Many Congratulations, Abhishek!

We are proud to provide this career-building opportunity for our students and alumni!
Connect with hundreds of companies from a wide variety of industries – all ready to hire for:
🔹 Internships
🔹 Co-op positions
🔹 Full-time roles

Dress professionally and bring printed copies of your résumé.
This event is your chance to build your network and launch your career! 💼

This summer, UTA MAE student Damian Do completed a summer internship at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.

“I had the opportunity to work in the combustion branch under the mentorship of Dr. Jinho Lee. My focus was on CFD modeling of rotating detonation engines (RDEs), specifically on the development of efficient startup methods for RDEs in CFD cases, which exposed me to the underlying complexities of this particular propulsion concept. Through this experience, I deepened my understanding of CFD and refined my technical skills in coding and simulation software. Beyond the technical growth, the internship also provided a meaningful opportunity to connect with researchers and peers from across the country, whose technical insights offered valuable perspectives on a wide range of fields.”

Great work Damian - keep ascending toward new opportunities!

This summer, UTA MAE student Elias Oliver completed a summer internship at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

"I worked in the Combustion Devices Component Development Branch of the Propulsion Department. My focus was on Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDREs), augmented spark igniters, and recuperators. Under the guidance of my mentors, Ben Williams and Tom Teasley, I contributed to in-line development efforts supporting advanced propulsion systems. This experience gave me a chance to really grow in propulsion engineering, helping me pick up new knowledge, sharpen my skills, and gain a deeper understanding of how engine systems work."

Great job Elias, keep soaring to new heights!

Come join us Wendensday in Nedderman Hall Room 100 where we will be going over what we do as a team, our subsystems, and general car updates.