IAP 2014 Activities by Sponsor - Aeronautics and Astronautics

Sue Arnold, Operations Manager

Jan/23

Thu

03:30PM-05:00PM

4 Cambridge Center, Lobby

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/22
Limited to 20 participants

Aurora Flight Sciences is a leading small business in the field of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Servicing customers from the Air Force to NASA, Aurora spans the entire field from research to full-scale system design and development, to prototyping, flight testing, and production. Aurora's Cambridge Research Office works extensively with MIT faculty, students, and labs to conduct leading research in guidance & control, autonomy, advanced structures, space systems, propulsion, and vehicle concepts & prototyping. Visit Aurora for a company overview, details on some of our projects, and a tour of the Cambridge research facility. Bring an ID to be admitted to the tour. Will depart promptly at 3:30 pm from the Lobby of 4 Cambridge Center  (corner of Broadway and Ames Street).

Co-sponsored by Aurora Flight Sciences.

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-202B, 617 253-2279, MAS@MIT.EDU

Julie Shah, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Yaniv Turgeman, Head of Research, Senseable City Lab, Chris Green, Research Fellow, Senseable City Lab

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 12/13
Limited to 15 participants
Attendance: attendance thru Jan preferred, flexible
Prereq: Experience in one of the skillsets listed below

Do you have experience in quadcopters, environmental sensors, embedded development, digital fabrication, mechanical engineering, web development, any of the above?

Interested in working on new and unseen applications of UAV technology?

Through January we are developing autonomous flying vehicles to dynamically sense and map the invisible phenomena of the environment around us. As Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology begins to move into increasingly civic applications, this project will propose and demonstrate UAVs as a responsive infrastructure deployable across cities, that can help us deeper understand our surrounding environments, and solve real-world problems. We are starting with the Charles River Basin, facing a series of environmental challenges that are little understood, relatively unmapped and difficult to gather further information on... which is where our technology steps in.

Sensors, autonomous flight, fabrication methods and data visualisation techniques will be developed, combined and deployed to create an aerial, real-time, spatiotemporal sensing platform.

ps:  IAP UROP positions are available for this project - please indicate this in your reply.

Senseable City Lab:  http://senseable.mit.edu/

Interactive Robotics Group:  http://interactive.mit.edu/

 

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Chris Green, 9-209, 617 324-4474, CJGREEN@MIT.EDU

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Jan/06

Mon

09:30AM-05:30PM

9-209

Julie Shah - Assistant Professor, Dept. of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Yaniv Turgeman - Head of Research, Senseable City Lab, Chris Green - Research Fellow, Senseable City Lab

Brian Nield (Boeing Commercial Airplane)

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/06
Limited to 24 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: Spreadsheet Skills (Excel); Some Familiarity with Aviation

Commercial aviation is extremely safe, in part due to knowledge gained from studying accidents. The investigation process and some of the most significant accidents are discussed. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to work with their peers in a small, self-directed, investigative team to solve a realistic (but fictional) aircraft accident mystery. New information on the crash will be given out each session as you piece together the facts to determine what caused the accident and build recommendations for improving flying safety.

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Liz Zotos, 37-219, x3-7805, zotos@mit.edu

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Aviation Accident Investigation

Jan/07	Tue	02:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-319
Jan/08	Wed	02:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-319
Jan/09	Thu	02:00PM-04:00PM	Room 33-319

Brian Nield (Boeing Commercial Airplane)

David B. Smith '05, Chief Engineer, Short Light Single Program

Jan/15	Wed	10:00AM-04:00PM	Room 37-212
Jan/16	Thu	10:00AM-01:00PM	Room 37-212

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/13
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: None

The helicopter possesses a unique capability unlike any fixed wing counterpart.  Long ago, physics determined that vertical lift would face enormous challenges.  As proof, consider that a commercially certified helicopter (first introduced by Bell) arrived almost 50 years after the Wright Brothers’ initial “fixed-wing” flight.  Rotorcraft engineers must resolve daunting issues in stability and control, aerodynamics, dynamics, and performance, while managing weight, cost, and complexity.  Bell Helicopter is the world leader in rotary wing technology, with a military and commercial product line.  Our V-22 Tiltrotor is the world’s fastest rotorcraft and our commercial operations service a world-wide fleet on all continents.  This short course is intended to expose engineers to fundamental principles that govern the rotor system and will introduce some of the unique challenges faced in rotary wing aircraft development. Students will find the advanced material more interesting by participating in the first session.  Attendance at both sessions is strongly encouraged.

Presenters from Bell Helicopter include: David B. Smith '05, Chief Engineer, Short Light Single Program; David King , Chief Engineer, 525 Relentless; Dr. Albert Brand , Director, Flight Technology & Simulation.
  

Co-sponsored by Bell Helicopter.

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-202B, 617 253-2279, MAS@MIT.EDU

Draper Education Office

Jan/30

Thu

02:00PM-03:30PM

555 Tech Square, Meet in Lobby of 555 Tech Square

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/24
Limited to 20 participants
Prereq: Must be a U.S. citizen.

While still the MIT Aero-Astro department's Instrumentation Lab, we developed the computers and guidance systems that sent men to the moon. Now known as Draper Laboratory, our work spans everything from
guidance, navigation & control of vehicles that fly, swim, crawl, roll, walk and soar to development of micro-miniaturized electronics and devices, to biomedical devices,signal processing, and information exploitation. The tour 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 (such as a driver’s license) to be admitted to the tour and registration must be confirmed by Draper at least 24 hours in advance. Will depart from the Draper Lab Reception Lobby, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge (next to NE43). Co-sponsored by the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, http://www.draper.com//.

To sign up for the tour, contact Marie Stuppard, mas@mit.edu, 617-253-2279.
  

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-202B, 617 253-2279, MAS@MIT.EDU

Dr. Peter Belobaba, Principal Research Scientist, Program Manager, MIT Global Airline Industry Program

Jan/13

Mon

01:00PM-02:30PM

, Room 33-206

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Why is airline pricing so complicated and why do airline fares change so often? This talk explains the theory and practice of airline pricing and revenue management -- how airlines determine prices and how many seats to sell at each price. The links between these models and internet distribution channels provide insights into the search for the best fares and itineraries.

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Marie Stuppard, 33-202, x3-2279, mas@mit.edu

Ali H. Dogru, Visiting Scientist

Jan/21	Tue	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Subsequent meeting times may change.
Jan/22	Wed	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Time subject to change.
Jan/23	Thu	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Time subject to change.
Jan/24	Fri	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Time subject to change.
Jan/27	Mon	01:00PM-03:00PM	TBA, Time subject to change.
Jan/28	Tue	01:00PM-03:00PM	TBA, Time subject to change.
Jan/29	Wed	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Time subject to change.
Jan/30	Thu	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Time subject to change.
Jan/31	Fri	01:00PM-03:00PM	Room 33-419, Time subject to change.

Enrollment: Advance sign-up recommended as space is limited.
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: 2.25, 16.910J or 16.920J

Reservoir simulation is a key technology in the oil and gas industry.  Primarily, it is used to manage oil and gas production from the existing reservoirs, estimating reserves, predicting future production (income), making decisions where to drill, how many wells to drill, size of the separation plants (cost). Reservoir simulators are also used in designing production strategies for the new fields.

A reservoir simulator is scientific software running hardware from a cell phone or to a supercomputer. It is composed of a set of nonlinear coupled partial differential equations describing multi-phase, multi component compressible fluid flow in porous media and associated pipeline networks.  This workshop describes the relevant PDEs constituting the simulator, thermodynamics constraints and rock fluid interaction relationships and the discretization of the PDEs. The size of the system can vary from a few unknowns to billions of unknowns.  Sparse linear solvers to solve the resulting large linear system of equations are discussed.

The workshop is hands on and interactive. Students are expected to write computer programs on their own or in groups and discuss the findings in class. No specific computer language is required.  At the end of the workshop, students learn how to write a three-dimensional multi-phase, multi-component reservoir simulator with production and injection wells.  The activity is offered through the first week of February.

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Prof. David Darmofal, darmofal@mit.edu

Annie Marinan, Research Assistant

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/02
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

Ever wanted to build a telescope? Interested in programming unmanned robots? Excited about learning and presenting new ideas? Come explore the fun side of AeroAstro by jumping right in! “Hands-On Aerospace” is a workshop designed to show how diverse AeroAstro can be through practical, hands-on activities and demos. In this course, you will group into teams and explore one activity or concept in detail by building a hands-on demo, creating a guide/lecture to teach others how to make and use the demo, and finally showcasing it in front of other classmates. Examples of past projects include: "Build Your Own Wind-Tunnel" - "Program a Team of Unmanned Robots" - "Engineered Structures: Why Light Composites Can Lift a Heavy Plane." Not only will this workshop show you the practical applications of AeroAstro, you will help pass knowledge on to future generations by creating “demo kits” and presentations that can be used as instructional materials for outreach activities at high schools and middle schools across the country! Freshmen are particularly encouraged to participate.

 

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Annie Marinan, marinana@mit.edu

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Jan/07	Tue	10:00AM-12:00PM	33-319, Optional lab 1-5 PM
Jan/08	Wed	10:00AM-12:00PM	33-319, Optional lab 1-5 PM
Jan/09	Thu	10:00AM-12:00PM	33-319, Optional lab 1-5 PM
Jan/10	Fri	10:00AM-12:00PM	33-319, Optional lab 1-5 PM

Annie Marinan - Research Assistant

Bruce Mackenzie

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

Please see each session description. 

Sponsor(s): Aeronautics and Astronautics
Contact: Bruce MacKenzie, 781-249-5437, BMackenzie@alum.mit.edu

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Hillside Settlement Design

Jan/30

Thu

11:00AM-12:00PM

Room 33-422

This ¿Hillside Settlement¿ proposal by the Mars Foundation would build
a permanent settlement on Mars, constructed from local materials such
as fiberglass and masonry.  Preliminary mass and cost estimates show
that we may be able to establish a permanent, growing settlement for
the same launch cost as a program of round-trip exploratory missions.

Bruce Mackenzie

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Designing A Minimum Settlement Program

Jan/31

Fri

11:00AM-12:00PM

Room 33-422

The Mars Foundation is designing a  very small, (relatively)
inexpensive manufacturing base for Mars, which can grow into a
permanent human settlement.   Your feedback or participation is
welcome.  Help figure out the least expensive way to get off the Earth
permanently.

Bruce Mackenzie