Dr. Layton can be found teaching any of the following courses: Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Bio-Inspired Engineering Design (grad and undergrad levels), and Mechanical Engineering Senior Design.

“Deep learning is a ‘process through which an individual becomes capable of taking what was learned in one situation and applying it to a new situation (National Academy of Sciences 2018).’ More specifically, we contend that deep learning occurs when students come to understand and make sense of important ideas and processes—and are able to transfer those understandings to new content and contexts.”

Anonymous Student Comments from Teaching Reviews:

Fall 2020 MEEN440/696 Bio-Inspired Eng. Design

“Not only did I learn skills applicable to this course, the skills it taught me also aided me in other courses.”

“Layton is by far one of if not the most caring instructor I have ever had. She went above and beyond to give us constructive feedback and adjust lectures to enhance our learning and engagement. I would recommend this course and Dr. Layton as a professor to anyone.”

“This was the most inspirational course I’ve taken at Texas A&M. Not only was the material extremely helpful, but Dr. Layton genuinely enjoyed teaching the class, and made it one of the few courses I’ve looked forward to every day. I’m sad that it’s over with!”

Spring 2017 Fluid Mechanics MEEN344

“She is super helpful, so willing to give her time in extra office hours to really explain things. I love that when I went to office hours she would make me work it out step by step instead of just telling me how to do it so I had to come to the solution on my own. It definitely helped me learn the material.”

“This professor was great. Awesome with her explanations, brought up real world examples in class, and is very good with illustrations which helps incredibly, especially since in engineering the problems can be quite complex and hard to visualize.”

“She is one of the best professors I’ve had in my college career.”

“Fluids is nothing to be afraid of. Even if you’re not interested in fluids, she
makes it interesting by not over complicating the course and relating it to real life applications. At the end of the class, no matter what grade you get, you’ll still come out knowing about fluids and the fundamentals of fluid interactions for different applications.”

Fall 2015 Heat Transfer ME3345

“One of the best professors I’ve ever had! She actually made me care about heat transfer and wonder more about how things work rather than just getting through the subject and then trying to forget everything after it’s over.”

Summer 2015 Fluid Mechanics ME3340/CEE3040

“I feel very confident in my Fluids knowledge after this course and I attribute a lot of that to your approach to the course and the classroom environment.  You were always available for help well beyond normal office hours and encouraged active participation throughout lectures.  Thanks again for making Fluids enjoyable in a very unique and difficult environment in which to teach.”

Summer 2015 Heat Transfer ME3345

“This was one of the best teachers I have had at Tech and she made it one of the best courses I have taken at tech.”

“She’s a really good professor and I wish I could have her for more than just Heat Transfer. She’s enthusiastic and she makes me want to learn more and understand the topic better.”

“Her handwriting and lecturing is excellent, she is very clear when going over the material. Also, she is one of those teachers that really makes you feel like she cares about you as a person, and she also cares whether you understand or not.”

“She did a great job connecting the material to real life application so it made more sense as we are learning.”

Spring 2015 Fluid Mechanics ME3340

“Layton is a very nice professor. She expects a lot from us, too much perhaps, but overall, I like her very much.”

Spring 2015 Heat Transfer ME3345

“I learned a ton in this class. Class was great because it wasn’t just constant lecturing — good combination of lecture, group work, and trying to engage with the class. Probably the best I’ve had at Tech in terms of that.”

Fall 2014 Fluid Mechanics ME3340

“Teaching!! She was honestly great! Very clear with her notes, pictures and diagrams were very easy to follow. Also great at being available and understanding with students. GT needs more teachers like Dr. Astrid.”

“Professor was obviously passionate about the course material, which made class that much more enjoyable. Also encouraged questions and made students less shy when they were confused.”

Fall 2014 Heat Transfer ME3345

“Dr. Layton was a wonderful teacher, very knowledgeable on the subject matter and she really just made the class one that I always looked forward to going to.”

“I have nothing but the highest accolades to say about Dr.Layton, one of my if not my favorite teacher I’ve had at Tech in the 4 years of attending this school. She really made learning the hard and sometimes boring material interesting, and I always looked forward to going to her class.”