The universe is expanding, and so is Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department. Beginning this fall, students can earn a Master of Science degree in space and aeronautical engineering.
The degree plan combines about 30 college credit hours of traditional aerospace engineering principles with developments in space exploration, satellite technology, and astrodynamics. Once completed, students could pursue careers in space and aeronautical industries and national laboratories.
"First cohort, we will kind of use many existing courses we have in mechanical," Dr. Vinod Kumar, Chair of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M-Kingsville said. "There is a lot of overlap when it comes to dynamics; when it comes to statics, mathematics. Down the line, in future, we will have a space focus."
Before the graduate program was established, the university had only a minor degree in aerospace engineering toward the end of a bachelor’s degree. This fall, the master’s program expects to start with between five and ten students.
In that group, John-Ryan Lawrence will be among those who will go where no Texas A&M-University-Kingsville has gone before.
He’s a familiar face for KEDT supporters. The Tuloso-Midway High School alumnus is a former contestant on the KEDT-TV academic quiz show “Challenge!”
"The thought that I'd have the opportunity to be the first person in a space and aeronautical engineering program, of which there are only a handful of such programs in Texas . . . it's a lot to take in," Lawrence said.
He will receive his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in December. In the same semester, he will pursue concurrent enrollment and officially begin working on his master’s degree in spring 2027.
"I've always been, you know, a naturally curious person," Lawrence said. "I've always had an interest in how things work, how engines lift. All of the sort of dynamics of flight, was what really drew me in."
That curiosity has served Lawrence in several high school organizations such as the law enforcement club, and the Warrior Company of the Navy Junior Reserves Officers Training Corps (NJROTC).
"My ROTC instructor was a retired naval aviator," he said. "He was a cargo helicopter pilot, and absolutely shaped the way I think about leadership and aviation and science."
His inspiration for his current path comes from eight years’ experience as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary component of the United States Air Force. It gave Lawrence the opportunity to fly an airplane for the first time.
"That just sparked an interest in aviation that's been burning ever since," he said
Lawrence’s grad school research will focus on material science, specifically with plasma interactions with ceramics for hypersonic vehicles and nuclear space propulsion.
"And that has a lot of applications for hypersonic glide vehicles and reusable rockets," he said. "Being in South Texas, so close to SpaceX, and having Houston a couple hours away is definitely something that I believe is worth looking into."
With Kingsville being somewhat of a halfway-point to several space stations in Texas, Lawrence’s career goals could launch him outside the state.
"I'd hope to want to work for JPL, the nationalist Jet Propulsion Laboratory [in California]; last I checked they're doing some Propulsion Research," he said.
With the trajectory that he’s on, he’s aiming for the stars in more ways than one.
