Dr. Darren Hartl, TEES Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been selected to receive the Gary Anderson Early Achievement Award from the Aerospace Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
The award is given to a young researcher in his or her ascendancy whose work has already had an impact in his/her field within adaptive structures and material systems. Recipients are selected by the Adaptive Structures and Materials Branch of ASME.
Hartl currently holds joint appointments at the Air Force Research Laboratory as a research scientist in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and a visiting researcher in the Aerospace Systems Directorate. His work bridges the topics of advanced multifunctional material systems and their integration into aerospace platforms. In his current role at Texas A&M he works with a team of graduate students to address research problems ranging from self-folding origami-based structures to self-regulating morphing radiators for spacecraft to avian-inspired morphing aircraft.
Hartl has over 13 years of experience working with shape memory alloys (SMAs) and morphing structures, and his efforts have included both experimental and theoretical studies. He has worked collaboratively with both governmental and industrial sponsors considering medical, oil exploration, aeronautical and space-related applications.
Hartl received his bachelor’s degree in 2004 and his Ph.D. in 2009, both in aerospace engineering and both from Texas A&M. He was inducted into the Aerospace Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy in 2015 as an Outstanding Young Aerospace Engineer.