Faculty Achievements and Research Highlights
ASE/EM faculty are shaping the future of aerospace through national leadership, award-winning research and innovations that advance Texas, strengthen national security and expand the possibilities of flight and space.
National & Statewide Leadership
Lori Magruder Advances Texas Space Leadership
Professor Lori Magruder is helping lead Texas’ effort to bring the United States Space Academy to the state. She was also elected an AIAA Associate Fellow for her contributions to remote sensing, geodesy and scientific leadership.
John-Paul Clarke Named Chair of NASA Aeronautics Research & Technology Roundtable
Professor John-Paul Clarke will lead a national panel of aerospace leaders advising NASA on aeronautics research and technology.
Karen Willcox Contributes to DOE Genesis Mission Projects
Professor Karen Willcox is contributing to two U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission projects advancing AI-powered digital twins for nuclear reactors and fusion energy systems.
Awards & Recognition
Maruthi Akella Recognized for Contributions to Aerospace Engineering
Professor Maruthi R. Akella received the Joe J. King Professional Engineering Achievement Award for his contributions to the engineering profession and was selected for the 2026 AIAA von Kármán Lectureship Award in Astronautics, recognizing distinguished contributions to the field. He will deliver the keynote at the ASCEND Forum, highlighting advances in autonomous space systems.
John-Paul Clarke Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Professor John-Paul Clarke was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for contributions to modern air travel, including the development of continuous descent arrival, an approach that reduces fuel consumption, emissions and noise.
L.L. Raja Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society
Professor L.L. Raja was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for contributions to high-fidelity computational modeling of chemically reactive plasmas, with applications spanning fundamental research and industrial-scale reactor simulations.
Tan Bui-Thanh Selected for National Security Research Program
Professor Tan Bui-Thanh was selected as one of four UT Austin faculty members for the 2026–27 Creating Connections for National Security Research program, which connects researchers with Applied Research Laboratories to advance AI, generative design and metamaterials for national security.
Brandon Jones Wins Journal of the Astronautical Sciences Outstanding Paper Award
Professor Brandon Jones and former student Ben Reifler received the 2026 Outstanding Paper Award for developing an initial orbit determination method that reduces uncertainty and enables faster tracking of newly detected space objects.
Luke Peterson Receives Air Force Young Investigator Award
Assistant Professor Luke Peterson received a 2026 Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award to develop simplified models for understanding complex dynamics in the cislunar environment.
Thomas Underwood Receives AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award
Professor Thomas C. Underwood received the 2026 Lawrence Sperry Award for pioneering contributions to air-breathing electric propulsion and plasma-enabled pathways for sustainable fuel production.
David Fridovich-Keil Receives Peter O’Donnell Distinguished Researcher Award
Professor David Fridovich-Keil was selected for the Peter O’Donnell Distinguished Researcher Award, recognizing his outstanding research in computational sciences and engineering.
Karen Willcox and Nanshu Lu Named Highly Cited Researchers
Professors Karen E. Willcox and Nanshu Lu were named to Clarivate’s 2025 Highly Cited Researchers list, recognizing their research among the most influential worldwide.
Thinh Doan Receives IEEE Prize and NSF CAREER Award
Assistant Professor Thinh Doan received the 2025 IEEE Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize and an NSF CAREER Award for research advancing control and learning algorithms for autonomous systems, with applications in robotics, wildfire response and other complex environments.
Research & Innovation
Ufuk Topcu Advances Autonomous Systems Safety
Professor Ufuk Topcu is contributing to a federally funded, UT Austin-led Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project developing dynamic certification methods for autonomous systems operating in complex, real-world environments.
Moriba Jah Leads $9.3 Million Texas Space Commission Initiative
Professor Moriba Jah is leading a $9.3 million Texas Space Commission initiative establishing the BMC3I TAP Lab TX at UT Austin. The lab advances space domain awareness and space threat detection through research, industry collaboration and high-performance computing.
