MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department
enews Vol 2, #7
May 2006
In this issue:
- Awards and accomplishments
- SPHERES begin ISS tests
- MARS Mavens hold merit badge workshop
- Three teams tops in aerial comp
- Aero-Astro alum survey available
- Popular Science profiles flying car project
- CDIO grows to 23 schools
- Tape to DVD conversions available
1. AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Professor-emeritus John Dugundji was selected by the AIAA as the
recipient of it’s prestigious Structures, Structural Dynamics,
and Materials Award for 2006. The award is presented to an individual “who
has been responsible for an outstanding recent technical or scientific
contribution in aerospace structures, structural dynamics, or materials.” Professor
Dugungi’s citation reads, "For seminal research contributions
in aeroelasticity, aeroservoelasticity, nonlinear vibrations and
composite structures of fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, turbomachinery
as well as distinguished service as an inspirational aerospace educator.” He
has been presented with an engraved bronze medal, certificate, and
rosette pin.
Congratulations to Professor Eytan Modiano, who has been granted
tenure.
The American Association for Artificial Intelligence has notified
Professor Brian Williams that he has been selected as the Outstanding
Senior Program Committee member for 2006 in recognition of his outstanding
service on this year’s committee. AAAI Executive Director Carol
McKenna Hamilton wrote him, “Your efforts were characterized
by exceptional care in tracking and overseeing the reviews of the
papers assigned to you, and diligence in leading thorough and thoughtful
discussions among the reviewers for each paper.
Professor Olivier de Weck has received the Frank E. Perkins Award,
presented annually by the MIT Graduate Student Council to a professor "who
has served as an excellent advisor and mentor for graduate students." He
was cited for his mentoring and advising qualities. “His students
note that he treats them as equals, as his colleagues and fellow
researchers. They also recognize that despite a demanding schedule,
he always makes time to meet, speak and advise, or to organize social
events bringing members of his lab together. To ensure that his students
get a well-rounded education, he is described by his advisees as
very understanding and supportive outside of the academic environment
in a manner that goes beyond any normal expectation. Over the past
years he has demonstrated true caring for his graduate students regarding
their priorities, professional success, career perspectives and overall
happiness. More than an advisor, he has become a mentor to many.”
Jennifer L.Craig, the department’s lecturer from the MIT Program
in Writing and Humanistic Studies, has received a research fellowship
to explore how we teach undergraduate engineering students to reason
about complex design decisions. Funded by NSF and administered by
the Colorado School of Mines, the research initiative is dubbed “Rigorous
Research in Engineering Education.” She reports, “I'll
attend a week-long workshop in July. With mentorship through this
program, I'll refine the research question, do the study in AY 06-07,
collect data and, by next summer, be able to draw some conclusions
about best practices.”
Diane Soderholm, chairwoman of the Department’s Awards
and Recognition Committee offers a report on staff honors bestowed in
recent weeks. Diane writes:
“The following have received Aero-Astro Above & Beyond
Awards in the last year (or so): Marilyn Good,
Phyllis Collymore, Castalia Jason, Barbara Lechner, Carol Niemi,
Anne Maynard, and Angela Olsen . The Above
and Beyond Award is presented for substantive achievement, to be
given throughout the year, to a staff individual(s) or teams who
have performed tasks or services in an exemplary manner, or have
improved the quality of life in the department.
“Recent Aero-Astro High Five Award recipients are: Peggy
Edwards, Kathryn Fischer, Ping Lee, Helen Halaris, Michael Corcoran,
Sally Chapman, Beth Marois, Phyllis Collymore, Todd Billings, and Brian
O'Conaill. High Fives, which are for department staff, are special
thank-yous from one person or group, to another person or group "for
help, service, or support beyond normal duties."
2. SPHERES BEGIN ISS TESTS
Dr. Alvar Saenz-Otero of the Space Systems Lab offers
this update on SPHERES, the SSL'a micro satellites designed to fly
in formation: SPHERES began operations aboard the International Space
Station on May 18, 2006 and May 20, 2006. After a 15-20 min delay due
to an unidentified caution/warning alarm in the ISS, astronaut Jeff
Williams located all of the SPHERES hardware. After an hour of debugging
and re-familiarization by Jeff, the first program was loaded and tests
began ... unfortunately there were less than 30 minutes left, so he
only ran a few very basic tests. The first test was successful! But
some tests failed, which made for an interesting night of data analysis
(we received the data from the first test session within 6 hours);
the problem was solved by the second test session, on May 20. On May
20, Jeff ran approximately 15 tests, including tests for formation
flight, docking, and autonomous fault detection and isolation. The
data shows success on many of those tests; although there is plenty
of work to do with estimation and control algorithms. For more information
on the SPHERES program please visit the SSL website at http://ssl.mit.edu/spheres/
3. MARS MAVENS HOLD MERIT BADGE
WORKSHOP
On
April 30, the MIT Mars Society held an all-day Space Exploration
Merit Badge Workshop for local-area Boy Scouts, reports student Kip
Landergren. There were nearly 15 troops present, and more than 60
scouts participated in the day's activities. “The day
started off with a bang as all scouts got to launch their home-built
rockets from Briggs field. At one point we had all five launch pads
in use!” Landergren says. After the launch, the scouts heard
a keynote address by Professor Jeffrey Hoffman, who spoke about his
role as an astronaut in repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. To round
out the day, the Society provided two blocks of classes covering topics
as diverse as orbital dynamics to the design of a Mars base. All of
the scouts had to meet very specific requirements to obtain this badge,
and had a great time getting it. “We are planning on expanding
the program for next year,” says Landergren. “Any questions,
comments, or eager volunteers, feel free to contact ms-officers@mit.edu.”
4. THREE TEAMS TOPS IN AERIAL COMP
Col Pete Young reports that on May 15 and 17, 16 sophomore Unified
Engineering teams participated in the annual Unified
Aerial Competition with their team-designed electric propulsion radio-controlled aircraft.
The rules this year emphasized flight efficiency using a small battery
pack, and the planes were scored for duration as well as a timed
speed run through a measured distance. The students appied engineering
knowledge they acquired during the year in aerodynamics, propulsion,
materials and structures, and stability and control. First place
team members were Woody Hoburg (pilot), Syed-Fareed Ahmed, Joy Dunn,
and, Christopher Hoffman; second place went to James Houghton (pilot),
Brittany Baker, Cong Luo, and HuiYing Wen; and third place winning
team members were Gerardo Cruz (pilot) , Paul Estrada, Zachary LaBry,
and Asa Rubin.
5. AERO-ASTRO ALUM SURVEY AVAILABLE
Last spring, the MIT Institutional Research Office administered
a survey to undergrad alumni from the classes of ’83, ’88, ’93,
and ’03. Topic areas included employment and education, perception
of MIT priorities, overall satisfaction, connection with institute,
achievement of goals, engineering licensure, startup companies, and
more. We have obtained a copy of the survey as completed by Aero-Astro
alums – you can download it (.pdf 463K) at http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/archive/ The
survey of all alums (not broken down by school or department) is
available for download at http://web.mit.edu/ir/surveys/ug_2005_alumni_survey.pdf
6. POPULAR SCIENCE PROFILES FLYING CAR
PROJECT
“Transition,” the flying car (or drivable airplane)
project of AA’s Carl Dietrich, Anna
Mracek, and Sam Schweighart was recently profiled in Popular Science magazine. The article was
posted on CNN.com where it may be read at http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/05/17/flying.car/index.html
7. CDIO GROWS TO 23 SCHOOLS
Two more North American schools have joined the International
CDIO Initiative – the University of Colorado in Boulder and Daniel
Webster College of Nashua, New Hampshire. There are now 23 schools
collaborating in developing CDIO-based engineering education programs:
California State University, Chalmers University of Technology, Daniel
Webster College, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Hogeschool
Gent, Hochschule Wismar, Lancaster University, Linköping University,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Queen's University, Belfast,
Queen's University, Ontario, Royal Institute of Technology, Shantou
University, Singapore Polytechnic, Technical University of Denmark,
U.S. Naval Academy, Umeå University, U. of Auckland, U. of
Bristol, U. of Colorado, U. of Liverpool, U. of Pretoria. The University
of Sydney is expected to become a collaborating institution this
summer. The CDIO Initiative was started in Aero-Astro. A team from
Aero-Astro will attend the Second Annual CDIO International Conference
in Sweden in June. Nearly 150 individuals representing 33 schools
from throughout the world are registered. For more, visit http://www.cdio.org
8. TAPE TO DVD CONVERSIONS AVAILABLE
The AA Communications Office is now equipped to convert VHS
tapes to DVD. If you have Aero-Astro-related VHS tapes (no weddings,
baby showers, confirmations, or bar mitzvahs, please) that you would
like to convert, contact Bill Litant at wlitant@mit.edu
Please share your news with the rest of the Aero-Astro community by contributing to the e-news. Awards, events, new research - it's all of interest. Send your suggestions to wlitant@mit.edu.
