Ethan R. Burnett
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
University of Texas at Austin
Welcome! Thank you for visiting my site. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin.
About Me
Originally from Arizona, I studied Aerospace Engineering and Physics at the University of Arizona from 2012 to 2018, with my M.S. thesis supervised by Prof. Eric Butcher. I received my Ph.D. in 2021 from the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department at the University of Colorado Boulder. Working in the AVS Lab led by Prof. Hanspeter Schaub, my focus was on the guidance, control, and dynamics of spacecraft relative motion. This is a critical topic for spacecraft formation flying and rendezvous. Afterwards I worked as a guidance engineer at Blue Origin in Seattle, studying fuel-optimal safe rendezvous techniques for the next generation of space vehicles.
From 2023 to 2025 I was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in Italy, working at the Politecnico di Milano in the DART Group led by Prof. Francesco Topputo. My EU-funded project FAAST focused on speedy and robust optimization schemes – leveraging differential algebra, optimization on manifolds, and sequential convex programming. The work has been applied to cislunar transfer design, as well as spacecraft rendezvous guidance subject to nonlinear dynamics and constraints.
I maintain also some interest in planetary science, having written or contributed to a few articles in Icarus and the Planetary Science Journal, mostly in collaboration with Prof. Paul Hayne, CU Boulder LASP.
Past & Present Collaborators
Collaborate/Join My Group
I invite prospective students and collaborators to see the Research and Publications tabs to learn more about my work. If this work resonates with your interests or goals, please don’t hesitate to contact me (email address on bottom of this page). IMPORTANT: Prospective students – please see Positions for more info about how to join.