News

UH and TAMU teams presented IDEAS²-supported research at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2025 in Sydney, featuring multiple papers and high-impact space architecture work.

UH joined the Axiom Space University Alliance, expanding access to microgravity research, commercial LEO platforms, and new opportunities for space technology development.

The University of Houston has opened the Aerospace Innovation in Mechanics and Materials (AIM²) Laboratory, a 1,900 sq-ft research facility supporting NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center projects. The lab expands UH’s capabilities in aerospace fabrication, soft robotics, deployable structures, and advanced materials, featuring state-of-the-art 3D printers, a laser cutter, a robotic arm, and specialized materials characterization systems.

Texas A&M’s IDEAS² team expanded research on deployable tensegrity and pseudoelastic structures, engaging undergraduate and graduate students in experimental validation of adaptive, self-deploying space systems. Work included motion-tracking studies of the WT-OctaSine pseudoelastic truss and advancements on the motorized Double Helix Tensegrity tower.

UH and Texas A&M University researchers met in Houston to review IDEAS² progress, share updates, and showcase advances in extended-reality (XR) design and research integration.

Houston Community College (HCC), an IDEAS² Center partner, received a historic NASA surplus hardware collection and elevated student engagement through advanced rocketry initiatives.

Eight abstracts from IDEAS² Center faculty and students were accepted for presentation at the Earth & Space 2026 Conference in College Station, Texas, highlighting UH’s leadership in advanced space architecture, materials, and structural systems research.

The IDEAS² Center expanded its research infrastructure with the installation of advanced equipment to support the newly established Aerospace Mechanics & Materials (AeM²) Laboratory at UH.

The NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center supported the launch of three new aerospace courses at UH for Fall 2025, expanding aerospace education and workforce training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

Three new assistant professors have joined UH’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, expanding the IDEAS² Center’s capabilities in materials, structures, and aerospace systems research.

Dr. Olga Bannova represented the IDEAS² Center as a panelist at the 2025 ASCEND conference in Las Vegas, contributing to global discussions on the future of space architecture and human-centered design in space environments.

San Jacinto College, an IDEAS² partner institution, represented the Center at the 2025 Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP) Space City Aerospace Industry Job Fair, connecting students and professionals with leading aerospace employers.

The IDEAS² Center, led by Co-I Dr. Heather Domjan, hosted the 2025 Mars Rover Explorers Summer Camp at UH, engaging 65 students from Houston-area schools in hands-on Mars-themed STEM learning and engineering challenges.

Texas A&M University’s Land, Air, and Space Robotics (LASR) Laboratory serves as a key facility for IDEAS² research, enabling advanced prototyping and performance testing in aerospace systems.

The IDEAS² Center led two major STEM outreach initiatives in June, engaging students and teachers through robotics demonstrations and research experiences.

The UH AIAA Space City Rocketry team, mentored by IDEAS² faculty, won First Place in the SDL Payload Challenge at the 2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition.

Three UH students from the IDEAS² Center are interning at NASA JSC, contributing to advanced research on deployable structures, lunar docking dynamics, and rover vibration modeling.

UH IDEAS² Center Co-Is Drs. Tian Chen and Theo Baxevanis, along with their students, published three papers advancing the science of deployable and bistable structures for aerospace applications.

The Texas A&M MIRO IDEAS² Center opened a newly renovated laboratory that now serves as the main hub for student-led research in deployable space structures and tensegrity truss systems.

Surabhi Sharma, a graduate research assistant with UH’s Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and the IDEAS² Center, successfully defended her MS thesis on lunar structure design and analysis.