MIT Aeronautics and
Astronautics Department
enews Vol 4, #2
November 2007
In this issue:
- Honors and Recognition
- MIT team Completes Urban Challenge
- New MIT Aerospace Prize
- Time Magazine Names Newman and Liebeck Projects
"Best Innovations"
- Hartman Student Competition Seeks Papers
- Displays Sought
- Google Moon
1. HONORS AND RECOGNITION
Belated congratulations to Professors Annalisa Weigel, Missy Cummings,
and Karen Willcox; the three were elected in September as AIAA Associate
Fellows. This is reportedly the first time three women from a single
institution were elected in the same year.
Additional congratulations to Professor Weigel who has been presented
the MIT Alumni Association Henry B. Kane '24 Award for her fundraising
volunteer work. Her citation reads: "During her tenure as a
young alumni director on the Association’s Board of Directors
from 2001–2003, Annalisa agreed to co-chair the Young Alumni
Campaign Committee. Her outstanding contributions and effective leadership
led to her appointment to the Alumni Fund Board where she quickly
established herself as a valuable contributor with particular expertise
in process management and strategic planning. As chair of the goals
committee, she defined a clearer and more effective process for goal
setting. Annalisa currently chairs the Alumni Fund Board where she
continues to offer wise counsel and demonstrate her deep commitment
to MIT." The Kane Award recognizes exceptional service and accomplishments
in fundraising for the Institute.
Professor Emeritus Earll Murman has been named to present the SAE
International/American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
William Littlewood Memorial Lecture. He will present the lecture
at the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit in Reno, Nev.,
Jan. 7-10, 2008. This prestigious recognition honors an individual
who has made significant contributions to the field of air transport
engineering. The award "honors the memory of William Littlewood
and his contributions to the design of, and operational requirements
for, civil transport aircraft."
The European Geosciences Union' Lewis Fry Richardson Medal will
be presented to Professor Akiva Yaglom next spring in Vienna. He
has also been asked to present a "medal lecture" describing
his work. The Richardson medal "honors outstanding scientists
whose work is related to nonlinear geosciences.
Sophomores Lindsey Holland and Natasha Bosanac emerged winners of
the 2007 Unified Engineering Water Rocket Competition. The soda-bottle
water rockets are designed to achieve a performance goal based on
altitude and empty mass. The Holland-Bosanac innovative vehicle reached
a spectacular altitude of 110 meters, for which they received certificates
from Professor Mark Drela pronouncing the students "Water Rocket
Scientists First Class." A photo of the presentation and the
winning craft is posted at http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/img/home/spotlightphotolrg.jpg
2. MIT TEAM COMPLETES URBAN CHALLENGE
The Department is justifiably proud of the MIT DARPA Urban Challenge
team, one of six teams to successfully complete the Challenge during
the weekend of November 3-4. Aero-Astro family involved with the
autonomous vehicle include Professors Jon How and Emilio Frazzoli,
students Gaston Fiore and Justin Teo, and postdoc Yoshi Kuwata. An
excellent job, all!
3. NEW MIT AEROSPACE PRIZE
The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship
Competition and the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium will
pool resources for the 2008 MIT Entrepreneurship competition. In
addition to combining resources, a new cash prize worth up to $10,000,
called the MIT Aerospace Prize, will be introduced for ideas with
aerospace applications. Raju Patel, Space Grant co-director, said
that “by partnering with the successful 100K competition,
we harness a cross section of student expertise in various disciplines
such as aero and astro, material science, computing, engineering
design to compete in aerospace innovation, enhance entrepreneurship
in the aerospace related industries.”
4. TIME MAGAZINE NAMES NEWMAN AND LIEBECK
PROJECTS "BEST INNOVATIONS"
As one might expect, Time magazine's Best Innovations of 2007 supplement
to its November 12 issue includes several MIT-spawned or related
systems and gadgets. Aero-Astro is represented with photo of Professor
Dava Newman clad in the latest incarnation of her space biosuit,
the mobility-enhancing form fitting polymer garment for the nextgen
planetary traveler. And, two pages before that is a tribute to the
X-48B blended wing body aircraft, the product of a Boeing Phantom
Works design team lead by Aero-Astro Professor of the Practice Bob
Liebeck. Professor Liebeck was profiled in the most recent issue
of the Department's Aero-Astro - visit http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/news/magazine/aeroastro-no4/liebeck.html
5. HARTMAN STUDENT COMPETITION SEEKS PAPERS
The Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction,
an aviation cooperative research organization headquartered in Aero-Astro
and directed by Professor Ian Waitz, is soliciting submissions for
its Fourth Annual Joseph A. Hartman Student Paper Competition. The
competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Papers
must relate to aircraft noise and/or emissions reduction. Prizes
range from $200 to $5,000. Submission deadline is January 31, 2008.
Papers are to be submitted via the competition page on the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Web site. Last year's
competition winner was Dr. Liling Ren, who received his S.D. from
Aero-Astro in February 2006, For more information on the Joseph A.
Hartman Student Paper Competition, visit http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/partner/news/papercontest.html
6. DISPLAYS SOUGHT
Time for some new displays for the exhibit cases located in the
second floor hallway of Building 33. If your research group, lab,
student organization, class, etc has posters or other appropriate
items that you would like the world to see, please contact Bill Litant wlitant@mit.edu about
display space.
7. GOOGLE MOON
Former Lecturer Col. Pete Young writes that the Aero-Astro family
will likely enjoy Goggle Moon, a collection of lunar maps and charts
that includes a mosaic of images taken by the Clementine mission,
a USGS-generated lunar terrain map; a collection
ts Space Grant Consortium will pool resources for the 2008 MIT Entrepreneurship
competition. I of Apollo mission stories, quotes, images, panoramas,
audio clips, and links to videos of the astronauts' adventures on
the lunar surface; and a collection of lunar regional charts. Visit http://www.google.com/moon/
If you know of events, honors, activities, or other information
you'd like to see in the next issue of Aero-Astro enews, please send
to wlitant@mit.edu - we'd be
pleased to include it!
