"Fuel Your Mind"--A Primer on Transportation Fuels, Current and Future
Prof. John Heywood, Dr. Winnie Torres-Ordonez (Global Fuels Technology, BP), Dr. James Simnick (Global Fuels Technology, BP)
Tue Jan 22, 09am-04:00pm, 1-390
Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 50 participants.
Single session event
The goal of this short course is to review the essential characteristics of the fuels we use every day in our cars, pickups, and SUVs. It will review the essentials of fuel refining and distribution, the key requirements of today's gasoline fuels, the opportunities that biofuels present, and the evolving role of ethanol.
Contact: Karla Stryker, 3-339D, x3-2203, kstryker@mit.edu
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering
|
A CEE Sampler
Peter Shanahan
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
An Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering
Civil and environmental engineers address the interactions between people and the built and natural environments. This lecture series provides an overview of the problems solved by civil and environmental engineers as well as some of the current research in MIT's CEE department. If you are a freshman considering CEE as a major or anyone interested in learning a little more about our department and discipline, we welcome you to attend one or all sessions.
Contact: Jeanette Marchocki, 1-281, x3-7106, jmmarch@mit.edu
Sponsor: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Seawalls: Are they Sons of Beaches or not?
Professor Ole Madsen
The evolution of the Town of Chatham, MA, beaches following the breach of Nauset Beach in January 1987 and subsequent construction of seawalls will be presented along with some experimental results on erosion and deposition in front of seawalls.
Mon Jan 7, 03-04:00pm, 3-133
Transportation Issues for the 21st Century; Challenges for CEE
Professor Joseph Sussman
Transportation provides services vital to a functioning society and economic development, but also creates negative externalities such as air pollution and excessive energy use. These issues have both a technological and an institutional aspect. This lecture through several examples will illustrate some approaches to dealing with the opportunities and problems in the transportation realm.
Tue Jan 8, 03-04:00pm, 3-133
Collapse of the Nicoll Highway
Professor Andrew Whittle
As Boston completes the Big Dig, the civil engineering community in Singapore is recovering from the catastrophic failure of an excavation for the new MRT Circle Line subway in April 2004 that killed four people. This talk will summarize the forensic investigations that have uncovered the underlying structural, geotechnical and construction causes of the failure.
Wed Jan 9, 03-04:00pm, 3-133
A tale of two scales How the microscale governs fluid flow in the Earth's subsurface
Ruben Juanes
Fluid flow in the subsurface is an integral part of the global cycle of water and carbon. Predicting such flows is difficult because the fluids migrate through very intricate porous media. I will present two examples of multiphase subsurface flows directly related to climate change (present and past. I will show how processes that occur at the pore scale dictate the overall pattern of the flow at the geologic scale.
Thu Jan 17, 03-04:00pm, 5-134
|
A quantitative (out)look at the future of energy: World energy consumption and resources
Gian Paolo Beretta
Fri Jan 11, 09-10:30am, 6-120
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Single session event
Prereq: none
History of energy consumption, outlook on demographic growth, technological development, energy consumption and CO2 emissions for the rest of the century. The complexities of the energy problem emerge in a rational perspective, and the important numbers with the right orders of magnitude.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/beretta/www/Beretta-IAP-Energy.htm
Contact: Gian Paolo Beretta, 3-237G, 324-0223, beretta@mit.edu
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering
|
Allemande to the Stars / Bootstrapping Space Development Using Rotating Tethers
Bruce Mackenzie
Thu Jan 24, 11am-12:00pm, 1-134
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
How you will travel to your new home in space on a shoe-string budget?
Imagine a giant boot in orbit, with it's boot laces spinning around. Your spacecraft can grab a bootlace (high-strength tether) and be flung to a higher orbit. A network of space stations with rotating tethers can provide low cost orbital transportation, and "bootstrap" the development of space industries and space settlement.
Bruce Mackenzie, National Space Society, Mars Foundation, Sponsored by MIT Mars Society
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, 1-134, info@marshome.org
Sponsor: Mars Society
|
Boeing 767 Cockpit Systems and Automation
Dr. Charles Oman, Brian Nield (Boeing Commercial Airplane), and Colleagues
Mon Jan 28 thru Fri Feb 1, 09am-05:00pm, 33-218
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 14-Jan-2008
Limited to 12 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Prereq: Basic flight simulator flying skills (see below).
Are you an aero-engineering student, pilot, or serious desktop flight simulator user? Want to understand how transport aircraft systems and automation work? Boeing and MIT Aero/Astro are offering a systems and automation familiarization course corresponding to those taken by Boeing engineers and airline pilots. Classroom lectures and afternoon/evening sessions using a sophisticated B767-300 desktop flight simulator, computer based training modules, and the real airplane at Logan Airport. You don't need to be a real world pilot, but it helps if you have some familiarity with desktop flight simulator flying. Morning lectures open to MIT community - no registration required. Trip to Logan Airport on Thursday evening.
Web: http://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/16/ia08/16.767/index.html
Contact: Liz Zotos, x3-7805, zotos@mit.edu
Sponsor: Aeronautics and Astronautics
|
Bounding Ellipsoid Optimization: Strategies and Applications
Dale Joachim
Wed Jan 23, 01-05:00pm, E15-209 (Wiesner)
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 15-Jan-2008
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Linear algebra
Bounding ellipsoids can approximate complex polytopes with well behaved and easy to manipulate mathematical expressions. Many such polytopes emerge from constraint-based formulations of phenomena in engineering and science where linear models are imposed without assumption on the resulting model error distribution. We derive a general expression for bounding ellipsoid polytopic supersets, discuss several optimization strategies, sequential convergence properties and potential for reducing computational complexity and power consumption. We also present sample applications and discuss parallels with Kalman filters and Support Vector Machines. Basic understanding of linear algebra is assumed.
Web: http://acacia.media.mit.edu/courses/boundingellipsoids
Contact: Dale Joachim, 320C, 452-5635, joachimd@mit.edu
Sponsor: Media Arts & Sciences
|
CAN NEW TECHNOLOGY HELP IN FINDING THE TREASURE OF OAK ISLAND?
Professor Andrew Whittle, Professor Brad Hager
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Oak Island is situated off the coast of Nova Scotia approximately 375 miles North of Boston. It has been the centre of a 200+ year mystery and treasure hunt since the discovery of a deep man-made shaft, referred to as the ‘Money Pit,’ in 1795. The complexity of the underground workings, the presence of a unique man-made flood system and legends of buried pirate gold have intrigued, challenged and mystified treasure seekers (including the young Franklin Roosevelt), conspiracy theorists and engineers. Many attempts to excavate within the Money Pit have been thwarted, initially by flooding through the man-made flood tunnel and later by flooding through pervious zones in the underlying anhydrite rock. The current owners ‘The Rock Management Group’ are looking for new methods to explore the Money Pit – by either stabilizing the pervious ground to facilitate excavation of a shaft or by using remote sensing techniques to more precisely define the underground configuration of the original works. Do MIT students have the solutions that can lead to recovery of the buried treasure?
Contact: Shoshanna Saxe, ssaxe@mit.edu
Sponsor: Civil and Environmental Engineering
History of Oak Island & the Money Pit and Technical Challenges of Excavations
Professor Andrew Whittle, Professor Brad Hager
10:00 am -11:00 am in Room 1-390- The history of Oak Island and the Money Pit, Presented by: The Rock Management Group.
11:00 am-12:00 pm in Room 1.390- The technical challanges of excavations within the Money Pit. Presented by: Les MacPhie of SNC-Lavalin.
Mon Jan 28, 10am-12:00pm, Room 1-390
Join the Hunt for Buried Treasure
Professor Andrew Whittle, Professor Brad Hager
Information session for would-be treasure hunters/prospectors.
Organization of student teams.
Mon Jan 28, 01-04:00pm, 1-350
Presentation of Findings to Review Panel
Professor Andrew Whittle, Professor Brad Hager
Prizes for best student team solutions.
Fri Feb 1, 01-03:00pm, 1-350
|
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Tour
Linda R. Fuhrman, Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA
Tue Jan 15, 02-04:00pm, 555 Tech Square, Next to NE43
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 11-Jan-2008
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Must be a U.S. citizen.
We will begin with an introduction to the Draper Laboratory, its history, and major projects. We will then visit several areas of the Laboratory and see some of its project activities. Restricted to U.S. citizens who must bring a government issued ID to be admitted to the tour and also bring the confirmation from the contact below. Will depart from the Draper Lab Reception Lobby, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge (next to NE43).
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-208, x3-2279, mas@mit.edu
Sponsor: Aeronautics and Astronautics
|
Computational Science and Engineering for Tomorrow’s Engineers and Researchers
Georgia Perakis, Jaime Peraire, Robert M. Freund
Tue Jan 8, 10-11:30am, Room E51-151
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
What is Computational Science and Engineering (CS&E), and why is it so important to the future of engineering practice and research? Simply put, intensive computation for engineering/scientific design and optimization have become essential activities in just about every engineering discipline and application domain. Come learn how CS&E research is re-shaping engineering in your neck of the woods, and also learn about MIT’s new master’s program in Computation for Design and Optimization (CDO). We will have a series of short talks by faculty and graduate students, followed by refreshments and conversation about MIT’s new CDO program.
Web: http://mit.edu/cdo-program/
Contact: Laura Koller, E40-152, 253-3725, lkoller@mit.edu
Sponsor: Computation for Design and Optimization
|
Feedback Linearization
Michael Price
Mon Jan 14, 12-01:30pm, 1-132, Amplifying circuits/feedback
Wed Jan 16, 12-01:30pm, 1-132, Distortion/linearization
Thu Jan 17, 12-01:30pm, 1-132, Frequency dependent linearity
Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 12 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Prereq: 6.002, 6.003 or basic knowledge of circuits; not for student
Most circuits need to be accurate. Most electronic parts are inherently nonlinear. How do you build accurate circuits with nonlinear parts? Negative feedback is crucial. It allows circuits with widely varying frequency response and gain to achieve very accurate and consistent behavior. It can also correct (but not eliminate!) the distortion present in every amplifying circuit. In this short class I'll introduce the concept of feedback and then examine the nonlinearities present in common amplifier circuits. We will observe and listen to distortion in audio, and then correct it by designing a few different types of feedback networks. This might help you prepare for 6.301 and 6.302, or just ground some of these concepts in reality.
This will be an informal class open to anyone who is curious.
Contact: Michael Price, pricem@mit.edu
Sponsor: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
|
Fossil Energy Power Generation in a Carbon Constrained World
Ja'nos M. Bee'r
Wed Jan 9, 02-04:00pm, 66-110
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Power generating options, including coal fired Rankine cycle steam plants with advanced steam parameters, natural gas fired Turbine-Steam, and Coal Gasification Combined Cycle plants are discussed and compared for their efficiency, cost and operational availability. Special attention is paid to the timeline of various technologies for their development, demonstration and commercial availability for deployment.
Contact: Ja'nos M. Bee'r, 66-301, x3-6661, 781-729-6116@mit.edu
Sponsor: Chemical Engineering
|
Future Directions for the Mars Homestead
Bruce Mackenzie
Wed Jan 23, 11am-12:00pm, 1-134
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Discussion of possible future projects related to Mars Settlement, to help plan the future of the Mars Homestead project, or just to think about UROP and thesis topics.
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, 1-134, info@marshome.org
Sponsor: Mars Society
|
Highlights of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Marie Stuppard
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: N/A
A series of lectures on the activities of the Aero-Astro Department. We will cover areas of interest in research, with oral presentations, films and/or demos. Please revisit this page for other upcoming lectures in this series.
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-206, x3-2279, mas@mit.edu
Sponsor: Aeronautics and Astronautics
The STS-107 Columbia Accident: Why Did it Happen, and What Changes Did it Bring About?
Prof. Sheila Widnall, Former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force ; Daniel Burbank, Captain, USCG and NASA Astronaut
This talk will address the technical and organizational causes of the accident from the perspective of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB); the crash site recovery operations; the astronaut office perspective on both the accident and general spacecraft reliability/survivability; and the Return-To-Flight (RTF) technical and organizational changes NASA made in response to
the CAIB report.
Tue Jan 8, 02-03:30pm, 35-225
Airline Pricing -- What Causes Airfares to Change?
Dr. Peter Belobaba, Program Manager, MIT Global Airline Indu
Will take an inside look at airline pricing practices & how they drive what passengers see as a complicated/confusing process. Will provide an overview of how economic theory & competitive pricing strategies interact with airline revenue management & distribution systems. Dr. Belobaba has been involved in the development of pricing & revenue management systems at over 30 airlines world-wide.
Mon Jan 14, 02-03:30pm, Room 33-206
Exploring Venus
Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis, NASA John Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
With a temperature higher than the inside of your oven and atmospheric
pressure equal to that a kilometer under the ocean, the surface of Venus is
one of the most hostile environments in the solar system, and a challenge to
technology. This presentation will present mission concepts and approaches
to the technology for future exploration of the surface and atmosphere of
Venus.
Thu Jan 17, 03:30-04:30pm, 33-116
Mars Exploration Rovers: Four Years on Mars
Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis, NASA John Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
In January, the Mars Exploration Rovers "Spirit" and "Opportunity" are
starting their 5th year of exploring the surface of Mars, well over 10
times their nominal 90-day design lifetime. We will discuss
the Mars Exploration Rovers, present some results from the
mission and how it has affected our current view of Mars, and briefly discuss
the continuing NASA program for future exploration of Mars.
Fri Jan 18, 02-03:00pm, 33-116
Some Funny Things Happened on the Way to the Moon: A History of MIT's Participation in the Guidance, Navigation & Control of the Apollo Spacecraft
Prof. Richard Battin
In the spring of 1961, President Kennedy announced that America would send astronauts to the moon and return them safely to earth. Exactly eleven weeks later MIT was chosen by NASA as the first prime contractor to supply the Guidance and Navigation System for the Apollo spacecrafts. A true story told by one who was there.
Tue Jan 22, 02-03:30pm, 33-116
|
Introduction to Materials Science: What Can Materials Do for You?
Caroline Ross, Liza Plotnikov, Rae Zucker
Thu Jan 10, 11am-01:30pm, 13-4101
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 09-Jan-2008
Materials science is a very broad field, including everything from nanotechnology, to biomaterials, to mechanical materials, and much more. Some of the toughest problems presented to mankind in the 21st century are being solved by materials science. In the first hour of this seminar, we will discuss what materials science is, and focus on some of the latest research in the field at MIT.
After lunch, we will look at what we can do with semiconductors, including demonstrations of solar cells, light emitting diodes and lasers.
(Advanced signup required because of lunch provided)
Contact: Carolne Ross, 13-4005, x8-0223, caross@mit.edu
Sponsor: Materials Science and Engineering
|
Introduction to Surface Analysis
Libby Shaw
Wed Jan 23, 30, 02-05:00pm, Room 13-2137
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 19-Jan-2008
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: none
CMSE's Shared Experimental Facilities include several useful tools for looking at the structure and chemical composition of solid surfaces with a sampling depth of a few atomic layers. This two-session course is a general introduction to three of these techniques: Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). We will summarize how each technique works, its strengths and limitations, and some of the research questions these methods help to answer.
Contact: Libby Shaw, 13-4149, x3-5045, elshaw@mit.edu
Sponsor: Center for Materials Science and Engineering
|
Introduction to Transmission Electron Microscopy
Yong Zhang
Fri Jan 25, 02-03:30pm, 13-2137
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
The lecture provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of transmission electron microscopy. Topics covered include the illumination system, electron lenses and their aberrations, image formation and resolution. A variety of imaging and analysis techniques and their roles specific to inorganic materials, such as crystallography, diffraction patterns and high resolution imaging are to be presented with practical demonstration. This presentation will also introduce TEM sample preparation techniques for a wide range of materials, including metals, semiconductors, powders and thin films.
Contact: Yong Zhang, 13-1034, x3-5092, yzhang05@mit.edu
Sponsor: Center for Materials Science and Engineering
|
LIDS Student Conference
Jerome Le Ny, Sertac Karaman
Thu Jan 31, Fri Feb 1, 08am-05:00pm, 32-155
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) graduate students and others present current research to fellow MIT students and faculty. Co-sponsored by Draper Lab.
The application for presentation abstracts is December 22nd. Please submit to lids-conference-submit@mit.edu. Students and faculty are welcome to attend. For final schedule check the website after January 15th.
Cosponsored by Draper Lab.
Web: http://lids.mit.edu/LIDSCONF
Contact: Jerome Le Ny, lids-conference@mit.edu
Sponsor: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
|
Mars Homestead Workshop
Bruce Mackenzie
Thu Jan 17, Fri Jan 18, Tue Jan 22, Wed Jan 23, Thu Jan 24, 12-01:00pm, 1-134
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session
Help plan an initial, permanent Mars Settlement. We will discuss various construction materials which might be manufactured on the Mars surface. Depending on your interests, we may make CAD renderings of possible Mars Settlements. Or, we could explore specific technologies which may lead to a later research project or UROP or thesis.
Bruce Mackenzie, founder Mars Foundation, National Space Society, Mars Society.
Sponsored by MIT Mars Society
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, 1-134, info@marshome.org
Sponsor: Mars Society
|
Materials and the Environment
David Roylance
Thu Jan 10, 02-04:00pm, 8-205
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Discussion of aspects of modern materials (especially metals and polymers) relevant to their impact on the environment and consumption of energy, and the effect of the environment on materials. Case studies will include the pros and cons of plastic grocery bags and the design of environmentally friendly engineering structures.
Contact: David Roylance, 6-202, x3-3309, roylance@mit.edu
Sponsor: Materials Science and Engineering
|
Materials for New Energy Technologies
Gerbrand Ceder, Yet-Ming Chiang, Harry Tuller
Wed Jan 9, 10am-04:00pm, 4-149, Lunch: 12-1
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 08-Jan-2008
Limited to 50 participants.
Single session event
Materials for new energy technologies. Introduction by Professor Gerbrand Ceder with presentation on fuel cells and batteries/vehicles by Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang and Prof. Harry Tuller, respectively. Lab tours.
Contact: Amy Shea, 6-107, x8-5816, amyshea@mit.edu
Sponsor: Materials Science and Engineering
|
Nanocrystallite Size Analysis Using XRD
Scott A Speakman
Thu Jan 24, 02-05:00pm, 13-2137
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
X-ray diffraction can be used to estimate the crystallite size, microstrain, and defect density of nanophase materials. The method is powerful, but prone to error when certain assumptions and limitations are not acknowledged. This lecture will review the common techniques used for nanocrystallite size and microstrain analysis, such as the Scherrer, Hall-Williamson, and Rietveld methods. The lecture will demonstrate how these techniques can be easily and correctly used in the X-ray SEF of the CMSE.
Last year’s lecture focused on the underlying theory of this analysis technique. This year’s lecture has been revised, based on feedback, to focus more on practical application. Attendees should leave this lecture with a firm understanding of the steps required to correctly collect data and begin their crystallite size analysis.
Web: http://prism.mit.edu/xray
Contact: Scott A Speakman, 13-4009A, x3-6887, speakman@mit.edu
Sponsor: Center for Materials Science and Engineering
|
ORC seminar - "Commercial Operations Research"
Thibault Le Guen, Adrian Becker, Karima Nigmatulina
Mon Jan 28, 10:30am-04:30pm, E51-145
Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 50 participants.
Single session event
This seminar will include several talks on the use of Operations Research in Marketing and Finance.
Lunch provided
10:30 - 10:45 Welcome and overview
10:45 - 12 OR in Marketing. Dr. Michael Braun
12-1 Lunch.
1-1:20 Overview of OR/MS in business systems at GE. Chris Johnson
1:20-3:30 Capital and Resource Management
-Scheduling examples at NBC Universal and GE Rail. Dr. Srinivas Bollapragada [~1hr10min]
-Distributed power and grid dispatch. Dr. Jason Black [~30min]
-Total capital management. Kete Chalermkraivuth [~30min]
3:30-3:45 Break
3:45-4:30 Risk Management
-Industrial risk transfer - service contracts case Dr. Jens Alkemper
-Endogenous-exogenous coupling in markets - insurance case Dr. Jens Alkemper
Contact: Thibault Le Guen, E40, (857) 253-1932, tleguen@mit.edu
Sponsor: Operations Research Center
|
Overview of Mars Homestead Plan to Start Settlement of Space
Bruce Mackenzie
Thu Jan 17, Tue Jan 22, 11am-12:00pm, 1-134
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session
A plan for a very early, permanent Mars Settlement is shown. By concentrating on manufacturing from in-situ materials, we can save the cost of most return flights. This allows permanent, growing scientific base on Mars for about the same launch costs as multiple round-trip mission. It could be the easiest way to start the permanent settlements throughout the solar system.
Info@MarsHome.org
Bruce Mackenzie, founder Mars Foundation, National Space Society, Mars Society.
Sponsored by MIT Mars Society
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, 1-134, info@marshome.org
Sponsor: Mars Society
|
The MIT DARPA Urban Challenge Team
Prof. Jonathan P. How
Fri Jan 11, 02-03:30pm, Room 33-116
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
This talk will describe Team MIT's performance in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge (DUC). MIT was one of 35 teams that participated in the DUC National Qualifying Event (NQE), and was one of 11 teams to qualify for the Urban Challenge final event. Team MIT was 1 of 6 teams to complete the race, finishing in 4th place. We will review the design of our autonomous vehicle, Talos, a Land Rover LR3 equipped with a diverse range of lidar, vision, radar, and navigation sensors connected to a powerful blade cluster computer system. The performance of our system will be reviewed and ideas for future research discussed. Members of Team MIT include students, staff, and faculty from MIT working in partnership with faculty and students from Olin College and
staff from Draper Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, BAE Systems, and Land Rover.
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-208, x3-2279, mas@mit.edu
Sponsor: Aeronautics and Astronautics
|
The Magic of Carbon Nanotubes: Properties, Growth, and Applications
Gilbert D. Nessim
Tue Jan 15, 01-03:00pm, 6-104 (Chipman Room)
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 13-Jan-2008
Single session event
Prereq: none
Carbon nanotubes, one of the most interesting structures in the nanotechnology landscape, are the closest implementation to a one-dimensional structure. Their exceptional electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties have made them a hot subject of research for many future applications. Carbon nanotube reinforced tennis racquets are already in the market. Research labs have already developed prototypes of electrical devices such as field effect transistors or field emission displays using nanotubes. The futuristic space elevator project has focused on carbon nanotubes as the material of choice for its super-strong cable.
This presentation will provide the audience with an understanding of the properties, growth methods, future applications, and challenges for integration of carbon nanotubes in future products.
Contact: Gilbert D. Nessim, 13-5122, x3-2063, gdnessim@mit.edu
Sponsor: Materials Science and Engineering
|
The Wonders of X-Ray Diffraction
Scott A Speakman
Thu Jan 17, 02-05:00pm, 13-2137
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
X-ray diffraction is a versatile technique for measuring a number of characteristics of crystalline and semi-crystalline materials. This seminar will survey the information that might be learned from polycrystalline materials using XRD. Rather than discussing theory, examples will be used to illustrate the use of XRD to measure: quantitative phase composition, crystallite size, microstrain, residual stress, texture, rate constants and activation energies for reactions, crystallinity, etc. The capabilities and limitations of the instruments in the CMSE X-Ray SEF will also be discussed.
This lecture is designed to help those unfamiliar with X-ray diffraction decide if XRD could be useful for their research. Researchers using XRD for basic phase ID may also find benefit in exploring the more advanced analyses that are possible.
Web: http://prism.mit.edu/xray
Contact: Scott A Speakman, 13-4009A, x3-6887, speakman@mit.edu
Sponsor: Center for Materials Science and Engineering
|
Thermodynamics in a nutshell (but rigorous!): how to define entropy for nonequilibrium states
Gian Paolo Beretta
Tue Jan 15, Wed Jan 16, Thu Jan 17, 09-11:00am, 4-237
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Prereq: a previous exposure to thermodynamics will help
You will see how the essential concepts of thermodynamics, including a clear definition of entropy valid for nonequilibrium states, can be organized and taught in a small number of lectures. Will serve also as a nice review of the fundamentals.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/beretta/www/Beretta-IAP-Thermodynamics.htm
Contact: Gian Paolo Beretta, 3-237G, 324-0223, beretta@mit.edu
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering
|
Tour of the MIT Research Reactor
Edward Lau
Wed Jan 16, Fri Jan 18, 25, Wed Jan 30, 10am-12:00pm, NW12 1st floor desk
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 11-Jan-2008
Limited to 25 participants.
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session
Learn how the MIT Research Reactor is operated and utilized. A descriptive lecture and a walking tour of the lab will be given with emphasis on interdisciplinary research and applications. Advance sign up and photo ID required. To register, send email specifying which tour date you prefer.
Contact: Edward Lau, NW12-116, x3-4211, eslau@mit.edu
Sponsor: Nuclear Reactor Lab
|
|
