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When Garrett Madison arrived on the Hilltop in 2019, he thought football would be the defining challenge of his college years. In time, the first-line football recruit discovered life-saving research, mentors who knew him by name, and something even more meaningful – a sense of home.

“Originally, I came here to be a linebacker,” Madison explained. “But beyond the football team, beyond everything else, I really enjoyed that ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ was a very intimate environment. The attention you get from professors and faculty is just so much more than you’d get at a larger university, and that’s something I was really looking for – community.”

As a student-athlete, his schedule was a balancing act between twice-daily practices and college coursework. A 6A captain throughout high school, Madison thrived, rising under the pressure with the support of coaches and professors to develop skills that translated off the field – including time management, resilience, determination, and discipline.

“Here, I learned to juggle it all,” Madison explained. “Through my sport and my classes, I got really good at managing my time well – making a list and knocking things out, one after another.”

Although he arrived at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ undecided, with interests in business and law, Madison’s flexibility and openness to opportunity – strategies that were strengthened by mastering the difficult balance between athletics and academics – led him to the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle School of Engineering.

For Madison, still unsure of his path, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle offered encouragement and perspective. He found faculty that invested personally in his success — like Dr. Yildirim Hurmuzlu, a University Distinguished Professor who took on the role of Madison’s mentor, finding time to engage with him in and outside the classroom. In making the switch to mechanical engineering, he felt for the first time that he had found his footing, bolstered by a sense of confidence and belonging.

“Dr. Hurmuzlu got to know me very well, and that really helped me,” Madison shared. “At bigger schools, you’re a number on paper. At Lyle, you’re part of a community – you’re known.”

The confidence from his controls course with Dr. Hurmuzlu carried him forward, but his senior design course was the moment his bright future began to take shape. It was there that Madison was first introduced to Dr. Chris Colaw, Lyle Adjunct Professor and Fellow with Lockheed Martin. Dr. Colaw took Madison under his wing and, alongside his industry partner, empowered him to translate his analytical curiosity into real-world change, harnessing technology to improve foreign object detection in F-35 fighter jet manufacturing.

“Senior design was formative for me,” Madison emphasized. “If I hadn’t taken that class, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

The opportunity to work alongside industry experts as an undergraduate was incredibly rewarding, setting the stage for Madison’s post-graduate success. With faculty support, mentorship, and a wealth of experience under his belt, Madison graduated summa cum laude with dual degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics, making the honor roll each semester despite athletic commitments – finding that lessons learned on the field actually made him a stronger student. When it came time to decide his next steps, Madison turned to the transformative mentors who first guided his success.

Now, Madison is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering under Dr. Hurmuzlu and a researcher and innovator with Dr. Colaw’s ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ for Digital and Human-Augmented Manufacturing (CDHAM) – a first-of-its-kind research hub that partners with industry giants like Click Bond and Lockheed Martin to revolutionize aerospace manufacturing. As a doctoral student at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle, Madison is driving innovation at the cutting-edge – and he isn’t done yet.

In his current role, Madison channels robotics, virtual/extended reality, artificial intelligence, and digital twin technology to engineer aerospace manufacturing to be safer and more precise than ever before. Recently, the development of a novel solution in partnership with CDHAM – inspired by his senior design course – has caught the attention of Lockheed Martin.

Every jet, whether a fighter jet or cargo aircraft, is lined with over 100,000 holes, which serve as sites for the rivets, fasteners, and screws that maintain the plane’s integrity. To ensure the safety and viability of aircraft, manufacturers hire workers to examine each hole with a flashlight and a dental mirror before screws and fasteners can be attached, a time-consuming process that leaves lots of room for human error.

“You can imagine how tedious and tiresome that is, and how easy it might be to start skipping holes,” Madison emphasized. “When something as small as a hair gets in, it can get stuck inside when we drill the screw in, clogging the hydraulic pump and leading to loss of planes and loss of life. That’s why I created HANNDI.”

Drawing from the senior design course where he first found his direction, Madison engineered a device – which he fondly calls “HANNDI” – with the capacity to scan holes and identify foreign objects with an incredible 95% rate of accuracy. Using a neural network, the AI-powered device stands to revolutionize aerospace manufacturing by reducing time and labor while increasing safety.

The impact of this partnership translates to patentable technology and a potential business venture with the power to save lives, well before Madison finishes his PhD. He traces his successes back to the mentorship and opportunities found through ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle, proof of what’s possible for engineers who start their journeys here.

Today, Madison is passionate about giving back to the Lyle community, stepping into the role of mentor to support the next generation of Mustangs. Guiding tours for incoming engineering hopefuls, his success story serves as a reminder that engineering your future doesn’t always happen in a straight line. Through determination and resilience, students from all backgrounds – whether you’re a student-athlete, a nontraditional student, or undecided – can find their home at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle.

“I love to tell students that it’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do just yet,” Madison emphasized. “I’ve been a student-athlete, I did business at one point, law at one point, a master’s, and now a PhD. I hopped around so much before I figured it out, and look at me now.”

“I’m grateful to the professors who have always looked out for me,” Madison shared. “Balancing football and engineering was hard, but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”

Although his time at Lyle will soon come to a close, Madison’s bright future is just beginning under the transformative guidance of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle, bolstered by skills, lessons, and opportunities to last a lifetime. In time, he hopes to continue his work in the aerospace industry, carrying the strengths learned in and out of the classroom into his next steps.

For those just beginning their engineering journeys, Madison feels there is no better place to start than right here on the Hilltop.

“It’s an exciting time to come to Lyle,” Madison emphasized. “After earning R1 research status, there is a lot of momentum and investment. Professors, faculty, and friends I’ve met here have always looked out for me and wanted the best for me – for me, that made all the difference.”

About the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s Lyle School of Engineering thrives on innovation that transcends traditional boundaries. We strongly believe in the power of externally funded, industry-supported research to drive progress and provide exceptional students with valuable industry insights. Our mission is to lead the way in digital transformation within engineering education, all while ensuring that every student graduates as a confident leader. Founded in 1925, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Lyle is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees.

About ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s alumni, faculty and nearly 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, community and the world.