The University of Maryland’s Department of Aerospace Engineering earned national recognition at the 2026 Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Conference & Exhibition in Seattle, Wash. where UMD students received multiple awards spanning graduate research, additive manufacturing, and structural design competitions.

Graduate students win top honors for advanced composites research

First-year aerospace engineering graduate students Christopher Clark and Grace Johnson earned the first and second-place awards, out of the selected 6 finalists, in SAMPE’s 2026 University Research Symposium (URS) master’s category, continuing a success record for the pair—they both earn top awards at SAMPE 2024 as undergrads—and the department’s Composites Research Laboratory (CORE Lab).

Clark’s award-winning paper, “Comparison of 3D-printed Plastic and Composite End Fittings in Soft Composite Pneumatic Artificial Muscles,” explored how additively manufactured materials can improve the development and performance of soft robotic actuators, known as Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs), used in aerospace applications.

“I am sincerely grateful to receive this award,” said Clark. “The SAMPE URS competition once again showcased remarkable participants this year, and I was honored just to participate.”

His work specifically aims to show that 3D-printed materials, in place of machined aluminum, can allow for quicker development and prototyping of PAMs, an increase in specific actuation force (force normalized by weight), and serve as a viable replacement of PAMs made with aluminum end fittings.

Clark has worked in the CORE Lab under the advisement of Norman Wereley, Minta Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering since transferring to UMD from Harford Community College. He has won multiple awards for his research, including UMD’s Winston Family Honors Award for Best Honors Thesis, and continues to be an active member of UMD’s SAMPE Student Chapter and the SAMPE Baltimore-Washington Regional Chapter. He also participates in UMD research and leadership programs, including AEROS, ASPIRE, and NSF LSAMP.

“I am glad to have shared this experience with my lab mate, Grace Johnson, who excelled during the competition,” added Clark. “This award would not have been possible without the mentorship from Dr. Wereley, my former graduate student mentor, Dr. Frank Cianciarulo, and fellow CORE Lab members.”

This summer, Clark will be starting an internship with ST Engineering at the Middle River Aerostructure Systems Facility.

Johnson’s winning research paper, “Dynamic Energy Absorption and Crush Efficiency of Additively Manufactured Tubular Honeycomb Structures with Buckling Initiators,” investigated how 3D-printed cellular structures can improve energy absorption for aerospace and automotive safety applications.

By incorporating buckling initiators into tubular honeycomb structures, Johnson’s work aims to improve crush efficiency and structural energy absorption for payload and occupant protection systems in future aerospace and automotive vehicles.

“I am very grateful for the chance to present in the SAMPE University Research Symposium for the second time,” Johnson said. “Through my work in the CORE Lab, I have been granted so many wonderful opportunities to share my research, especially within the SAMPE community.”

Johnson received her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from UMD in 2025 and has conducted research in the CORE Lab for the past three years. In addition to serving as president of the UMD SAMPE Student Chapter, she helps plan national conference events through SAMPE’s Young Professionals Committee. This summer, she will return to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory manufacturing center, where she previously interned.

Undergraduates earn honors in additive manufacturing and bridge competitions

Maryland Engineering students also earned recognition in two SAMPE student events held during the April conference.

Jennifer Varghese, a senior in UMD’s mechatronics engineering program, earned third place in SAMPE’s Student Additive Manufacturing Competition for her 3D-printed and optimized structural column design.

Then in SAMPE’s Student Bridge Competition, aerospace engineering exchange students from Spain, Marta Garcia Castellanos, Ruben Gonzalez Alba, Javier Jimenez and Letizia Qu Li, earned third place–out of 110 entries–for their poster as team BLT: Beam Layer Theory.

The student bridge competition allows students to design, build, and test a miniature structural bridge using an assortment of materials. Students from across the world then compete to determine who created the strongest and lightest bridge.

In total, 26 UMD students participated in SAMPE 2026 through research presentations and student competitions, demonstrating the breadth of the department’s expertise in composites, advanced manufacturing, and aerospace structures while networking with international industry leaders and peers.