J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering

Say hello to the 2026 RAD LAB Engineering Interns! 👋 🚀 👨‍💻 The Robotics and Automation Design (RAD) Lab's annual Summer Internship Program kicked off this month! Undergraduate students from across the nation spend the summer working in the RAD Lab where they dive into hands-on robotics research, work alongside research engineers, and bring creative ideas to life.

Together, these interns are shaping the future of robotics, one summer at a time! 🦾

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University College of Engineering

Thank you to all who joined us for the Texas A&M University Capstone Design Conference, held June 1-3! A biennial forum for faculty, staff, students, and industry representatives, the Capstone Conference advances engineering Senior Capstone Design courses through interactive panel sessions, poster presentations, workshops, and industry demonstrations.

We are grateful to every participant and sponsor whose engagement helps strengthen our Mechanical Engineering capstone experiences and prepares the next generation of engineering leaders!

Shoutout to associate professor Dr. Ya Wang and doctoral students, Rishi Jangale '23 and Derek Pravecek '24 who are featured on the brand new Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) website!

Faculty & Former Student Honored Together 🏆 Congratulations to Dr. Zheng O'Neill, who has been recognized with the 2026 Outstanding Researcher Award by International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA - USA)! This award honors the outstanding leadership she has provided in building simulation through research throughout her 20-year career.

Former student Dr. Zhihong Pang '22 -- who previously worked under Dr. Neill during his doctoral studies -- was also honored with the 2026 Emerging Contributor Award, for his demonstrated potential for significant contributions to the field of building simulation. Congratulations, Drs. O'Neill and Pang! 👏 👏 👏

J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University Texas A&M University

Investing in the Next Generation of Engineers 🎁 Former student Don Davis '61 studied mechanical engineering at Texas A&M. He and his wife, Sallie Davis, have established six endowments in the College of Engineering -- including the Sallie and Don Davis ’61 Career Development Professorship in Mechanical Engineering II.

This endowment will support the teaching, research, service and professional development for mechanical engineering professors as they teach and foster growth in engineering students.

Read more: tx.ag/DavisEndowment

We're looking back on our graduate students' outstanding work this spring 🎉 💫

First-year doctoral student Anusree Sen received the Best Research Poster Award at the 11th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference hosted by American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE) at Arizona State University! Her poster, “Electrochemical Corrosion Response of Aluminum Substrates Exposed to Silica Nanofluids and Additives (Surfactant)”, explored how nanofluid formulations influence corrosion behavior, an important factor in designing next-generation thermal systems. She is advised by Dr. Debjyoti Banerjee, professor and one of the paper's co-authors.

Congratulations on your recognition, Anusree!

Mechanical engineering senior Jonathan Kiser ’26 proves that grit and persistence can turn any starting point into something extraordinary through Texas A&M’s Engineering Academy program and the J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University.

“Because of the Academies, I fulfilled my dream of becoming a mechanical engineer at Texas A&M. I wanted to give back to the program that helped me get here and inspire other students to do the same.”

After two years as an Engineering Academies student ambassador, he was formally elected as president for the 2025–26 academic year. Way to go, Jonathan!

Read more: tx.ag/JonathanKiser

We had a fantastic time reconnecting with our Former Students at our recent Houston Former Student events earlier this month. Thank you to all the graduates who joined us to network, share career experiences, and hear the latest updates from the Texas A&M Society of Automotive Engineers! Your continued engagement strengthens our community and drives the future of and SAE at Texas A&M

A special Gig 'Em to Ian Burress, the Texas A&M Solar Car Racing Team 2024 Project Manager & Jason Palmenberg, the 2001 Project Manager! 👍

Our staff & faculty gathered recently for our End of the Year Celebration to relax, connect, and toast to a successful semester. Thank you to all the members of our department for their hard work and dedication this spring. Cheers to a year well engineered!