2025 Fall Semester
ENGR 491 (202 & 526): Rocket Science Is "Not Rocket Science"
Open to ALL Majors
Faculty: Dr. Adonis Karpetis
The private space industry is leading the "explosive" growth of aerospace engineering everywhere in the nation and certainly in the state of Texas. The basics of rocket science and engineering will be explored during this Aggie Challenge project with emphasis on the "Maker" mentality of amateur rocketry clubs. Solid, liquid, and hybrid propellant rockets will be discussed with an eye to actual construction and implementation of simplified systems. Projects involve thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium, aerodynamics, dynamics, and controls of rockets and apply to a wide variety of systems: from the miniature solid propellant rockets used in elementary amateur devices all the way to hybrids and liquid propellant systems relevant to Base 11 and IREC competitions targeting 30-330-kft altitude launches.
ENGR 291 (504), ENGR 491 (200 & 516): Spacecraft VR
Open to ALL Majors
Faculty: Dr. Greg Chamitoff
SpaceCRAFT VR is a multidisciplinary platform for design and analysis of space systems and entire mission architecture concepts with human-in the-loop operations in virtual reality. SpaceCRAFT provides high fidelity environmental models and the means to integrate systems and algorithms for spaceflight vehicles, habitats, robots, rovers, satellites and any other mission component into a multi-user real-time simulation. It is used for engineering design, astronaut training, human interface testing, and the development of operational concepts for spaceflight missions. It is also used for STEM programs to teach students about space exploration through team-based design challenges. Students working on SpaceCRAFT choose from a wide range of research topics ranging from orbital mechanics to guidance systems, robotics, CAD modeling and animation, network coding and backend development, mechanical systems, planetary science, space physics, and many other topics.
ENGR 291-505, ENGR 491 (209 & 505): Advanced Vapor COMPRESSION DESALINATION
Open to ALL Majors
Faculty: Dr. Mark Holtzapple
Advanced vapor compression desalination has the efficiency of reverse osmosis and the robustness of multi-stage flash. In
the future, advanced vapor compression desalination has the potential to become the dominant method for desalinating
seawater. Minerals can be captured from the waste brine, which greatly improves economics and also reduces environmental impact.
ENGR 491-509: Disaster Informatics Solutions: Integrating Human and Machine Intelligence for Resilient Infrastructure and Smart Emergency Relief
Open to CSCE, CVEN, ECEN, and ISEN majors
Faculty: Dr. Ali Mostafavi
The students in this project will create intelligent systems to harness community-scale big data (such as population movements, social media activities) and leverage data science and machine learning technologies to help communities better prepare and respond to natural disasters.
ENGR 491-531: Electrochemical Biosensors for the Detection of BNP and NT-PRO BNP Biomarkers
Open to BMEN, ECEN, CHEN majors
Faculty: Dr. Hatice Ceylan Koydemir
Heart failure affects over 50 million people globally each year, and its early diagnosis is essential to manage and control symptoms. We develop a portable, batteryless, wirelessly operated, smartphone-enabled lab-in-a-palm device for self-monitoring of BNP and NT-proBNP levels at the POC, with a prototyping cost of less than $5 per disposable sensor (per test) and only $5 per reusable electronic device (excluding smartphone). The device utilizes BNP-specific and NT-proBNP-specific sensors for label-free electrochemical detection of BNP from 20 µL serum. The data analysis for this simple POC device is performed on the phone and does not require a cloud connection.
ENGR 291-507 and ENGR 491-510: Remote Monitoring and Self-management of Mental Health and Chronic Disease
Open to BMEN, CSCE, ECEN, ISEN, IDIS majors
Faculty: Dr. Farzan Sasangohar
This challenge focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of remote monitoring and self-management solutions for mental health and chronic diseases. Students will gain hands-on experience with digital health technologies, including wearable sensors, mobile health apps, and AI-driven decision support tools. The course emphasizes user-centered design, data collection, and real-world application through case studies and collaborative projects. Participants will also address critical issues such as patient engagement, behavior change strategies, data privacy, and ethical considerations.
ENGR 491-500: Additive Manufacturing Material Design
Open to AERO and MSEN majors
Faculty:Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas
Collaborator: Dr. Brian Lester, Sandia National Laboratories
With ever expanding design constraints, architecture and/or engineered materials are increasingly being investigated as a potential tool to address these challenges. Additive manufacturing represents an enabling
capability to this end by allowing engineers to tailor meso- and macrostructures to align with complex and challenging needs. Utilization of these approaches requires the development and deployment of advanced computational tools to design these materials. In the current project, students will utilize experimental data of additively manufactured metals to develop appropriate material and structural models to solve a series of design challenges. These challenges will increase in scope and complexity to address challenges motivated by recent engineering cases.
ENGR 491-504: AI Meets Construction Robotics
Open to AERO and MSEN majors
Faculty:Dr. Xin Wang
Collaborator: Dr. David Mascarenas, Los Alamos National Laboratory
This challenge focuses on developing a vision-based human-machine interface for effective worker-robot collaborations in construction. Students will work on utilizing computer vision algorithms to capture and interpret workers’ intentions, which will then be translated into robotic actions to perform corresponding construction tasks. The expected contributions include functional prototypes, algorithmic models, and experimental results that demonstrate seamless human-robot interactions in dynamic construction environments.
For additional information or inquiries from industry sponsors interested in sponsoring an AggiE_Challenge team, please contact us at inp@tamu.edu.