News

UH PhD students Neha Arora and Jyoti Sonawane had their research papers accepted for presentation at the 2025 Mach Conference in Annapolis, Maryland, supported by Cullen Fellowship and MIRO funding.

Dr. Tim Chen’s MIRO research on knitted architectures was featured in UH News, highlighting its applications in lightweight, flexible materials for aerospace systems.

The IDEAS² Center hosted students and teachers from Pin Oak Middle School for a Space Exploration Day featuring UH space research demonstrations and lab visits.

UH’s IDEAS² Center signed an MOU with Axiom Space to collaborate on research, development, and educational initiatives aligned with NASA’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Microgravity Strategy.

Texas A&M University hosted a Solar Sail Design Competition supported by the NASA MIRO grant, engaging students in hands-on design, teamwork, and innovation aligned with NASA’s goals.

IDEAS² Center faculty and students participated in the 2025 Mars Rover Celebration, mentoring over 100 young students in hands-on STEM activities and space engineering design.

IDEAS² Center faculty and students presented aerospace research at the ASME SSDM 2025 Conference in Houston, highlighting innovations in structural dynamics and deployable space systems.

The University of Houston officially recognized Aerospace as a major research priority for the first time, following the success and impact of the IDEAS² NASA MIRO Center.

The IDEAS² Center showcased aerospace research and STEM innovation at the Science & Engineering Fair of Houston, inspiring students to pursue careers in aerospace.

The IDEAS² Center strengthened its experimental capabilities by procuring state-of-the-art equipment to support advanced aerospace materials fabrication and testing.

UH graduate student Amber Jozwiak received the prestigious 2025 Texas Space Grant Consortium Fellowship, recognizing her excellence in aerospace research and leadership.

Texas A&M researchers are acquiring a deployable shape memory alloy (SMA) tower to advance IDEAS² research on deployable systems and smart actuation, in collaboration with WAVETRUSS.

IDEAS² faculty and students presented research at NASA’s Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop in Galveston, showcasing innovative studies on space architecture and artificial gravity.

IDEAS² Center faculty and students contributed to major research publications and conference presentations, emphasizing the Center’s commitment to advancing aerospace science and education.

Graduate and undergraduate students from UH and Texas A&M joined the IDEAS² Center’s research teams, advancing hands-on learning and collaboration in aerospace innovation.

The IDEAS² Center officially launched in November 2024 with a kick-off event at UH featuring NASA and industry speakers, highlighting the Center’s vision for advancing aerospace research and education.

The IDEAS² Center launched its official website and logo in November 2024, providing a hub for research visibility, student engagement, and result dissemination.

UH expanded its aerospace program by creating two new tenured/tenure-track faculty positions in Aerospace Engineering to strengthen research and education capacity under the MIRO award.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at UH was renamed to include Aerospace, highlighting a strategic expansion into aerospace education and research driven by the MIRO award.

The IDEAS² NASA Center award received extensive media coverage across multiple Houston outlets, highlighting its major role in advancing aerospace research and supporting NASA’s mission.