Dr. Manoranjan Majji
Associate Department Head for Space Engineering
Professor, Aerospace Engineering
Edward “Pete” Aldridge ’60 Endowed Professor
Director, LASR Laboratory
Dr. Manoranjan Majji earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2009. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in mechanics, control, systems analysis, estimation of dynamical systems and astrodynamics. He developed an undergraduate aerospace engineering mechanics course, developed or co-developed five new graduate classes in the college of engineering. He received the Milton Plesur award for excellence in teaching from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Dr. Majji’s research focuses on computational vision, alternative positioning and navigation systems, tensegrity systems and aerospace robotics. His fundamental contributions are documented in over 250 publications, including 68 journal articles. He has chaired or co-chaired 21 doctoral committees and 22 masters committees, and has served on 28 other graduate committees. His graduates are leading research in major corporations, startups, national laboratories, and universities. Dr. Majji received the New Investigator Award from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency in 2014, Dean of Engineering Excellence award (Assistant Professor) in 2021, and the TEES Faculty Fellow award in 2023. He is a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society (AAS).
Ph.D. Students
Ali Hasnain Khowaja
Ali Hasnain Khowaja is a DoD SMART fellow and fifth-year Ph.D. student co-advised by Dr. Manoranjan Majji and Dr. John Junkins. He received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University (Class of ’21). His research focus revolves around analyzing state uncertainty and information envelopes for camera inertial relative navigation in space and maritime domains. For fun, he enjoys playing basketball, reading and exploring the outdoors!
Benjamin Ingalls
Benjamin Ingalls is a fourth-year Ph.D. student and a DoD SMART Fellow. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2022. His research areas include robotics for six-degree-of-freedom emulation, in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing, tensegrity structures, and multi-agent formation control. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time outdoors, archery, and volunteering in A/V production for various churches and organizations around town.
Nathan Long
Nathan Long is a fourth-year Ph.D. student conducting research on autonomous robotics for Los Alamos National Laboratory via the MUI-QC fellowship program. Nathan graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Mathematics from Texas A&M University in May of 2023. He was an undergraduate research assistant at LASR, where he designed and prototyped the mechanical system for the TPODS. His current research focuses on system development and prototyping of robotic systems for transuranic waste material management. Outside of work, Nathan enjoys a variety of sports, video games, and dancing at Hurricane Harry’s.
Quintin Nelson
Quintin Nelson is a fourth-year Ph.D. student funded by the DoD SMART Fellowship. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Aerospace Engineering with honors from the Pennsylvania State University and the Schreyer Honors College in May of 2023. He works at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Space Vehicles directorate during the summers. His research involves the application of robust control subspace metrics to the fields of cislunar astrodynamics and multi-agent control. Outside of work, Quintin likes camping, hiking, collecting Lego, and Shadow the Hedgehog.
Justin Fiore
Justin Fiore is a second-year Ph.D. student and is a Hagler National Academy of Engineering Chancellor’s Fellow. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in the Hoeft Technology and Management program. In undergrad, he worked on building superconducting electric motors for commercial aviation in which he has patented technology. At A&M, he found a love for startups, entrepreneurship culture, and hard tech innovation. His minor and extracurricular activities were all based around innovating and building new companies based on hard tech products, and after he graduates, Justin will look to terminate as a founder and entrepreneur. A fun fact is that he walked on an erupting volcano and watched the sunset above the clouds on the same day.
Nicolas Fransen
Nicolas Fransen is a second-year Ph.D. student and received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in May of 2023. While in undergrad, he held internships and co-op positions at NASA and GE Aviation. After graduating from Purdue, Nicolas spent two years working as a manufacturing engineer and mechanical designer in the automotive industry. He is currently researching space robotics and in-space assembly and manufacturing. Outside of academics, Nicolas likes running, outdoor adventure, international travel, and staying connected with friends & family.
Pat Hoskins
Pat Hoskins is a second-year Ph.D. student in Aerospace Engineering and currently works as a full-time researcher at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. His doctoral studies are supported through NRL’s Edison Memorial Graduate Training Program. Pat’s interests include astrodynamics, space robotics, and autonomous spacecraft operations. His current work investigates the integration of orbital mechanics, robotic motion planning, and reinforcement learning for autonomous on-orbit servicing applications, along with neuromorphic computing and event-based sensing architectures for adaptive spacecraft autonomy and robotic perception. Outside of work, Pat enjoys camping, hiking, saltwater fishing, gardening, and collecting and tissue culturing rare and exotic plants.
Idris Hussain
Idris Hussain is a second-year Ph.D. student in Aerospace Engineering. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honors in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University with a minor in Mathematics and certificates in Concept, Creation, and Commercialization, and International Engineering. He is a National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Program Scholar and a National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps Fellow. He works on the analysis, design, and development of static and dynamic tensegrity structures, including deployable tensegrity robots, and a hardware testbed for spacecraft rendezvous and proximity operations. Idris enjoys entrepreneurship, playing sports, video games, and being outdoors.
Haru Tidmore
Haru Tidmore is a second-year Ph.D. student and received his BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University. Haru is currently working on robotics; spacecraft testing, spacecraft GN&C & system design, and non-gaussian estimation. A fun fact is that his autograph is somewhere floating in space or burned up in the atmosphere…
Luke Murphy
Luke Murphy is a first-year Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant with a B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M. Luke currently works on projects involving navigation, astrodynamics, and uncertainty quantification. In his free time, ge enjoys playing the horn, singing, and running.
Masters Students
Mattheus Fry
Mattheus Fry is a second-year Master of Science student in the Aerospace Engineering department. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in December 2021. He spent 1.5 years working for the Air Force Civilian Service before entering the Masters program at Texas A&M. His work at the LASR Lab focuses on pose estimation and control of disposable CubeSats for on-orbit servicing and the associated testbed: TPODS. Outside of work, Mattheus occasionally enjoys reading and going on walks.
Luke Serrano
Luke Serrano is a second-year M.S. student and graduate research assistant with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology (Class of 2025). In the lab, Luke serves as the Computer Vision team lead, directing efforts to maintain and advance robotic vision capabilities. Outside the lab, he enjoys training in Jiu-Jitsu, playing piano, serving at church, sharing meals with friends, and discovering good books.
Hugo Trueba
Hugo Trueba is a second-year master’s student coming from A&M undergrad. He is currently working on a 4 cable overconstrained carriage robot with computer vision and target capabilities. Hugo has a penchant for last-minute plans to faraway places and has most recently broken the third bone of his life.
Robotic Friends
CHOMER
TPODS
MAVS
NEMOS
HOMER
