WH Clark v. UT Austin
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Mars Pathfinder 2.0 had two innovative aspects: (1) using Three Body Topology to save 15% energy on final approach to Mars and (2) using reverse integration from conjunction to void the need for a nonlinear optimization routine. A few years after I was expelled, both spawned a whole new discipline in orbital theory.

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2005.4.18 Extreme malice from the UT Chief Legal Officer

April 18, 2005
Explore a 2005 University of Texas legal dispute over dissertation status, copyright protection, academic dismissal, research claims, and public records access.

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2002.12.9 President Faulkner finalizes the dismissal

December 9, 2002
A graduate student challenges his dismissal from an aerospace engineering Ph.D. program, citing qualifying exam rules, disability discrimination, and faculty oversight.

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2002.7.29 Grievance to ABET, the licensing authority

July 29, 2002
A former UT Austin aerospace engineering student alleges retaliation, procedural violations, and mishandling of his ABET complaint and Ph.D. dismissal.

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2002.5.30 Disabilty Review: we did nothing wrong.

May 30, 2002
A 2002 University of Texas investigation examined disability discrimination claims, AIAA conference eligibility, and an aerospace engineering dismissal appeal.

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2002.2.14 Formal grievance to Disabilities Office

February 14, 2002
A 2002 formal grievance alleges disability discrimination, unfair graduate dismissal procedures, rejected appeal evidence, and barriers to academic research at UT Austin.

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2002.3.19 Schutz confirms he has not formally evaluated my Mars tech

February 3, 2002
A detailed review examines Bill Clark’s Mars trajectory claims, orbital mechanics methods, optimization results, and the University of Texas graduate program findings.

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2001.11.28 Come ASAP to defend your Mars research

November 28, 2001
A graduate student describes being barred from registration, losing an advisor, and facing an oral exam over Mars trajectory research at UT Austin.

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2001.11.25.01 The department’s post-dated Mars analysis

November 25, 2001
A detailed review of the Mars Pathfinder project examines its Earth-to-Mars trajectory claims, orbital mechanics, optimization methods, and UT Austin dismissal findings.

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2001.10.22 Massive support from NASA et al

October 22, 2001
Emails from NASA, JPL, universities, and aerospace experts document strong interest in Bill Clark’s Mars trajectory software and dissertation research.

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2001.10.15 Asked the Disabilities Office for assistance

October 15, 2001
A graduate student alleges disability discrimination, academic neglect, and unfair oral exam deadlines at the University of Texas Aerospace Engineering Department.

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2001.7.15 Grievance letter to the Dean of the Graduate School

July 15, 2001
A graduate student’s letter to the Dean details alleged neglect, harassment, academic isolation, and unresolved support issues after passing Ph.D. qualifying exams.

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2001.3.2 Folwer instructs me to put my Mars source code online

March 2, 2001
An archived 2001 email reveals advisor Wallace Fowler’s advice to publish Bill Clark’s FORTRAN Mars trajectory code and its impact on his Ph.D. research.

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2001.2.15 Mars Society/AIAA Mars Pathfinder 2.0 paper

February 15, 2001
Explore an innovative Earth-to-Mars trajectory optimization method that reduces travel time or fuel use without nonlinear optimization or genetic algorithms.

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2000.11.2 Mars Seminar comments by faculty

November 2, 2000
Explore a Mars seminar story featuring orbital dynamics, dissertation defense confusion, and a nonlinear optimization challenge solved without a complex algorithm.

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2000.11.2 Mars seminar presentation notes

November 2, 2000
A researcher recounts a tense Mars research seminar, departmental neglect, and fears that UT could claim ownership of years of original work.

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2000.11.2 Official flyer for my Mars seminar on campus

November 2, 2000
Explore a four-body model for faster Earth-to-Mars trajectories, featuring a 30-day reduction versus Hohmann transfers and optimized mission planning.

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2000.6.27 Mars paper accepted at the Mars Societ Convention

June 27, 2000
A Mars research paper accepted by the Mars Society Convention was withdrawn after a student faced limited university funding and support.

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1998.6.3 Emails from Roger Broucke

June 3, 1998
Explore Roger Broucke’s work on celestial mechanics, three-body dynamics, trajectory regularization, orbital stability, and Poincaré bifurcations.

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1998.4.15 NASA’s Standard Mars trajectory setup

April 15, 1998
Discover how PAM Abusali’s UT research inspired a Mars Pathfinder computer program using the standard five-thrust trajectory for space exploration.

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Semantic Search for the Whole Site

Common Grad Student Questions about IP

  • Does the university Disabilities Office protect graduate students during dismissal?
  • What are the rights of older-than-average or veteran graduate students?
  • When Your Advisor Stops Advising: What Graduate Students Should Document
  • Can I Change my PhD Advisor After a Conflict or Complaint?
  • How Do I Document Graduate School Advisor Neglect for an Appeal?
  • What can a PhD student do if their advisor steals their research?
  • Who owns the intellectual property of a graduate student’s thesis?
  • What are the signs of graduate advisor retaliation after filing a complaint?
  • How do universities use qualifying exam timelines to dismiss students?

Legal Standards Reference Docs

  • General Principles for Interpreting this Website
  • A. How to Read the Evidence in Clark v. UT Austin
  • B. Graduate Research Ownership: Copyright, Inventorship, Data, and Attribution
  • C. What supports a research-misappropriation complaint?
  • D. Reporting Faculty Research Misconduct: Which Office Handles What?
  • E. Protecting Degree Progress During a Faculty Dispute
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