Centers and Laboratories

The mission of the Center for Autonomous Vehicles and Sensor Systems (CANVASS) is to unify research and development of autonomous vehicles and systems to better serve the state and nation. It is a multi-laboratory center with investigators in various departments within the college.

The threefold mission of the Center of Innovation in Mechanics for Design (CiMDM) and Manufacturing is: research; education and training and global collaborations; and industry and governmental lab outreach. The center aims to solve the need for mechanics support for early stage design and subsequent manufacturing.

The Energy Systems Laboratory focuses on energy-related research, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction. Innovations in research, education, and technology offer solutions to help improve quality of life, foster economic development, and enhance education.

The mission of the INnoVation tools and Entrepreneurial New Technology (INVENT) Lab is to help researchers and companies get technology developed and to market faster through development and application of innovation accelerating tools and new technology feasibility demonstration. Our research areas include but not limited to: Tribology of touch for haptic perception, tribology of robotic interactions, MEMS/NEMS characterization and nanophotonics.

The StarLab develops disruptive, deployable technologies based on the innovative application of smart design strategies, tools, and techniques and conducts focused research on development of novel algorithms and analysis and implementations of autonomous vehicle systems.

The Turbomachinery Laboratory faculty and students team up with industry partners to conduct research into important problems of reliability and performance of turbomachinery through the Turbomachinery Research Consortium.

The current research at the Acoustics & Signal Processing Laboratory is focused on the study of sound and vibration generation, propagation, and reception and the control of them in mechanical and bioengineering systems.

The ART lab facilitates fundamental and applied research on robotics and embedded technologies for applications in defense, health care, and education. Ongoing research projects include swarm robotics, novel transformable robots, origami-inspired robotic mechanisms, and tangible interactive games.

ACTOR conducts scientific research on structural integrity in responding to harsh environments, resilient civil and military structures, and food insecurity, as well as training students with fundamental knowledge of structural mechanics, cutting-edge technology, and effective communication skills.

The Advanced Computational Mechanics Laboratory is dedicated to state-of-the-art research in the development of novel mathematical models and numerical simulation of physical phenomena. Current research includes but not limited to damage, fracture, nonlocal mechanics, composite materials and structures (e.g., plates and shells), and computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer.

The Advanced Engine Research Lab investigates advanced methods for internal combustion engine energy conversion and emission reduction.

The mission of the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing (AM2) Lab is to integrate novel material designs, data science and sensors into emerging manufacturing processes for high-performance multifunctional materials and systems in energy and biomedical applications.

The Advanced NanoManufacturing Lab develops new tools and techniques to pattern unconventional materials at the nanoscale, with particular interests in polymers, organic small molecules, metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles, and 1- and 2-D materials.

Agui-Lab is an interdisciplinary research team that combines the fundamentals of lasers, optics, fluid mechanics, and transport phenomena with experimentation to advance biomedical and engineering applications.

The Autonomous Systems Laboratory specializes in the safety and application of autonomous ground vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. More specifically, the safe response time of unmanned vehicles, user acceptance, general trustworthiness, sensors, planning algorithms for surveillance, path covering algorithms and task allocation algorithms.

The BIM Lab's research focuses on exploring biology to develop advanced and programmable soft materials and structures with advanced functionalities enabling adaptation, autonomy and environmental responsiveness.

The BiSSL group works on systems-level problems related to sustainability and resilience. We seek to better engineer systems ranging from industrial resources networks to power grids by incorporating inspiration from biological systems, optimizing designs towards their desirable characteristics.

The BioMechanical Environments Laboratory conducts research in orthopedic biomechanics, tissue mechanics and engineering, human performance, and vascular, lymphatic, and cell biomechanics.

The Building Energy and HVAC & R research group focuses on HVAC, building energy efficiency and resiliency. We exploit intelligent building operations with advanced sensor and controls, smart ventilation, grid-interactive efficient buildings and heat pump technologies through simulations, big data analytics, hardware-in-the-loop emulators, and real building demonstrations.

The Computational Design Lab's research focuses on advancing fundamental computational design, analysis, and operation of complex engineered systems.

The Computational Heat Transfer Laboratory conducts research to develop techniques to predict turbulent flow and heat transfer in nuclear reactors.

The Computational Thermo-Fluids lab focuses on developing new physical models suitable for high-performance computing with high scalability to aid designing clean and efficient energy conversion systems.

The CAST Lab utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to connected, safe and autonomous technologies.

This lab is focused on the theoretical and experimental study of persistent structural change phenomena. We study these natural occurrences and try to mimic this in artificial materials.

Major research interests in our lab include machine intelligence and control, autonomous and connected vehicles control and optimization, dynamics modeling, automation and control for oil and gas applications, control and optimization for energy systems, and mechatronic system design, fabrication and prototyping.

We study task sequence and robotic motion planning in human-robot collaborative environments, learning-based control to enable learning among heterogeneous robots, optimization and control for power and energy storage systems, as well as iterative learning control for high-precision systems.

The DIGIT Lab focuses on developing AI and machine learning methods for engineering design, with the goal of solving the most challenging design problems including high-dimensional problems, inverse design problems, design under uncertainty, and novel design discovery.

The Design Systems Lab discovers, studies, and demonstrates new ways in which engineers can design complex systems.

The Dynamic Material Response Lab studies heterogeneous materials formed from densely packed granular media. Our experiments combine aspects of shock physics, mechanics of materials, material science, thermal science and combustion to uncover the effect of thermal and mechanical damage mechanisms on bulk material performance.

The Energy Efficiency Control Optimization Laboratory focuses its research on using advanced control strategies to achieve higher energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact, and increased performance for conventional and alternative energy systems.

Metallurgy is the principal study of the EJL Research Group. Research interests include the synthesis and behavior of nanostructured and multi-scale materials with particular emphasis on processing fundamentals and physical behavior; thermal spray processing of nanostructured materials; spray atomization and deposition of structural materials; high temperature-high pressure atomization processes; and mathematical modeling of advanced materials and processes.

The Experimental Solid Mechanics Laboratory investigates a wide range of problems in solid mechanics, many of which exhibit a strong coupling between mechanics and other fields, such as electronics and chemistry. Current areas of interest include mechanics of materials for energy storage and conversion, deformation and fracture of soft materials, mechanics of flexible/wearable electronics, coupled electro-chemo-mechanics, mechanics of plants, mechanics of irradiated materials, and mass transport in materials.

The Fluid Mixing at Extreme Conditions Laboratory studies fluid mixing at high temperatures, pressures, and velocities and multiphase flows and magnetohydrodynamic forces.

The Friesen Haptics Laboratory's research focuses on the actuation and perception of broadband tactile cues for enhanced interactions with haptic displays and virtual reality.

The FAST Lab sustains a research program in the broad area of structural dynamics with a focus on vibrations, acoustics, and smart material applications leveraged by instrumentation, sensing, and testing. FAST Lab develops high-quality work within a holistic, sustainable, collaborative, and collegiate environment.

The Human Empowering Robotics and Control Lab aims to bridge this gap between estimation and control theory and physically interactive robotics to pursue fully-task-invariant feedback systems that augment human capabilities.

The Hypervelocity Impact laboratory’s (HVI) research is aimed at enabling unique high-rate materials characterization and multiscale numerical model development and implementation. The Texas A&M HVI laboratory will provide a testbed for the development of novel layered structures comprised of polymers, composites, metals, ceramics, soft materials, gels, and geomaterials to mitigate HVIs.

The Laboratory for Low Carbon Energy and Sustainable Environment conducts research on 1) the production of renewable fuels with zero carbon emissions by using carbon dioxide as the feedstock, sunlight as the energy input, and nanomaterials as the catalysts, and 2) treatment and reuse of wastewater from industry and oil/gas fields, and membrane technology for desalination.

The Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Phenomena studies the dynamic behavior of materials subject to extreme environments and uses this knowledge to enable the multi-scale design of revolutionary multifunctional materials.

Lan Research specializes in the science and application of light. We tailor the generation, manipulation, and detection of classical and quantum light that could readily find applications in lasing, imaging, and sensing. We also utilize light to probe, program, and process natural and engineered materials for energy conversion, chemical synthesis, and clinical therapeutics.

The Manufacturing Innovation Laboratory performs multi-disciplinary research combining manufacturing with material science, thermal science, and computer science for broad applications in industry and healthcare.

MATSAIL@TAMU designs and fabricates novel structural and functional materials using atomistic and multi-scale simulations and AI/ML for next-generation electronics, energy, and environment applications

The Mixed Initiative Design Laboratory develops computational frameworks for the representation, presentation, and manipulation of information with research positioned at the intersection of computer-aided product design, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence.

The Morpheus Laboratory is a dynamic research facility focused on Smart Systems with applications of smart materials and adaptive structures.

The Multi-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer Laboratory have ongoing research projects ranging from micro-fluidics, boiling heat transfer, nanotechnology, and Bio-MEMS.

M4 Lab’s research trust revolves around the interface of advanced manufacturing and mechanics of materials. We are particularly interested in understanding the fundamental processing-property-microstructure in advanced materials and integrating control over materials on multiple length scales through materials processing and additive manufacturing.

The Multiscale Manufacturing Lab applies the fundamental understanding of transport phenomena at macro-, micro-, and nano-scales for advanced manufacturing.

Multiscale Mechanics of Materials Laboratory led by Dr. Wei Gao works on interdisciplinary problems in solid mechanics and materials science. Our research has plentiful applications in renewable energy, micro- and nano-electromechanical devices, additive manufacturing, and biomedical engineering.

The research of the Multi-scale Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Lab aims at resolving challenging technical problems associated with aging, bone disease, and bone injuries in health care.

The Nano Energy Laboratory explores advanced energy technology and science, nano/micro-systems, and thermal engineering science.

NES focuses on nanomaterial fabrication and characterization with applications to human sensing, internet of things, personalized medicine, and energy harvesting embodied with artificial intelligence, with an ultimate goad to be vibrant and adaptable to the high impact innovations in the multidisciplinary areas of mechanical, materials science, electrical engineering and biomedical engineering.

The Optical Diagnostics and Imaging Laboratory develops and applies cutting-edge laser techniques to study reacting and non-reacting flows such as combustion, propulsion, plasma systems, and hypersonic flows.

The Petersen Research Group specializes in the study of combustion, gas dynamics, and propulsion. They conduct experiments on reacting flows, chemical kinetics, and shock waves for a range of applications.

The Plasma Engineering and Diagnostics Laboratory’s research is focused on the experimental study of microscale and low temperature plasmas and devices with drive plasmas.

The Polymer NanoComposites Lab studies various polymer and nanocomposite materials, with properties that rival metals and ceramics, while maintaining beneficial polymer mechanical behavior. Flame retardancy, gas barrier, anti-corrosion, thermoelectric energy generation and heat shielding are topics of particular expertise.

Synthesis of control and instrumentation, actuators and power electronics, sensors and signal processing, and precision system design.

The Precision Metrology and Instrumentation (PMI) Lab develops novel metrology, inspection, and instrumentation technologies for advancing semiconductor manufacturing and advanced manufacturing.

The PROduct Synthesis Engineering Laboratory helps engineers during initial design phases and develops design methods to facilitate concept generation for specific types of product spaces, such as biomimetic, derivative biomimetic, and universal product concepts.

The Public Thermo Lab at Texas A&M leverages the fundamental power of thermodynamics to drive progress in medicine, conservation, space exploration, and beyond.

Our mission is to design and deploy resilient robots tailored for harsh terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments, while fostering safe exploration and collaboration between humans and robots. We will cultivate the next generation of engineers, guiding them to usher in the next chapter of robotics.

The Robotics & Control Engineering Research Group focuses on modeling and development of advanced control systems for various industrial and autonomous applications with two major fields of applications: robotics and roll-to-roll manufacturing.

The Schoenung Research Group synthesizes, characterizes, and models new materials to meet the increasing demands of ballistic, transportation, and energy applications. The group is also involved in a Green Engineering initiative, investigating the impacts of materials transactions on human health and environmental quality.

Researchers at the Scientific Computing and Biofluids lab develop and validate advanced computational tools for flows involving moving boundaries and fluid-structure interaction to simulate real world biological and engineering applications and gain insight into physics of such problems.

The Smart Systems Lab is focused on researching persistent structural change phenomena using external stimuli in a variety of forms.

The Surface Science Laboratory researches develops methodology to characterize and understand chemical, mechanical, physical, and tribological properties of surfaces and interfaces of materials in different states and processes to synthesize various materials.

The Systems, Control and Optimization Laboratory studies intelligent transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, and discrete optimization applications in vehicular applications.

The Texas A&M Industrial Center, a program funded by the Department of Energy, offers complimentary energy conservation assessments to manufacturing companies and wastewater treatment plants in central Texas. With 34 years of dedicated service, the center provides recommendations covering energy efficiency, waste reduction, and productivity improvements.

The Thermal Engineering Group investigates fundamental thermal-fluid transport mechanisms that guide novel applications and efficient solutions for a sustainable energy future.

The Turbine Heat Transfer Laboratory develops new cooling techniques and investigate traditional cooling methods in the pursuit of more efficient gas turbines for both power generation and aircraft propulsion.

The Unmanned Systems Laboratory’s research focuses on mapping, localization, guidance, navigation, and control for developing autonomous ground and aerial vehicles.

The Vibration, Control, and Electromechanics Laboratory is currently researching hemodynamics, the Morton Effect, machinery windage, and solid model based finite element rotordynamics.