UT Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

From capstone project to career-launching innovation, Andrew Doty helped lead the UT-led FLARE-X team in building an autonomous fleet of small aircraft designed for early wildfire detection and suppression.

Working alongside students, researchers, and faculty, Andrew helped develop technology aimed at stopping fires before they grow into disasters.

After graduation, he continued supporting the effort through AIVE, a startup that grew out of FLARE-X.

🔗 Read Andrew’s full story and see how Texas Engineers are building solutions that matter: https://news.utexas.edu/2026/04/01/leader-in-the-making/

This Thursday 📣 Join us for a talk by Robert D. Braun, Ph.D., Space Exploration Sector Head at Johns Hopkins APL, on how autonomy is reshaping the future of spaceflight.
 
From Mars missions to deep space exploration, Dr. Braun will discuss the evolving balance between ground control and autonomous systems—and what it enables for the next generation of space missions.
 
📅 Thursday, April 23, 2026
🕒 3:30–5:00 pm
📍 ASE 1.126
 
Reception to follow ✨

Thanks for joining us at the Artemis II splashdown party! Shoutout to our Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Graduate Student Program (AEMGO) for hosting – click the link in our bio to watch a featured segment on 📺

Artemis II launches today and a Texas Engineer is helping lead the mission.🤘🚀

Meet Judd Frieling, ascent flight director for Artemis II and a proud graduate of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his BS in aerospace engineering and now oversees the crew’s journey from liftoff toward the Moon. 🌖

From the Forty Acres to flight control—Longhorns are making history.

Read more here: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/artemis-ii-launch-flight-director-is-from-central-texas-graduated-from-ut

Photo: (NASA/Robert Markowitz)