Explore this NOVA interactive activity to see how engineers have modified a military plane's sound, shape, and heat emissions to minimize detection.

The objective of this lab is to implement a PD controller for a 2DOF system with an oscillatory mode. Students will gain a better understanding of the limitations of PD/PID control for higher order systems. Students will design, simulate, and implement a non-collocated controller with multiple feedback loops to acquire an acceptable response for the system. The controller will be designed and implemented in LabVIEW using the Simulation Module and Control Design Toolkit.

16.225 is a graduate level course on Computational Mechanics of Materials. The primary focus of this course is on the teaching of state-of-the-art numerical methods for the analysis of the nonlinear continuum response of materials. The range of material behavior considered in this course will include: linear and finite deformation elasticity, inelasticity and dynamics. Numerical formulation and algorithms will include: Variational formulation and variational constitutive updates, finite element discretization, error estimation, constrained problems, time integration algorithms and convergence analysis. There will be a strong emphasis on the (parallel) computer implementation of algorithms in programming assignments. At the beginning of the course, the students will be given the source of a base code with all the elements of a finite element program which constitute overhead and do not contribute to the learning objectives of this course (assembly and equation-solving methods, etc.). Each assignment will consist of formulating and implementing on this basic platform, the increasingly complex algorithms resulting from the theory given in class, as well as in using the code to numerically solve specific problems. The application to real engineering applications and problems in engineering science will be stressed throughout.

This course introduces students to fundamental control systems theory with emphasis on design and implementation. These labs focus on technical implementation issues of classical control theory in the frequency domain and modern control theory in the state-space. Design and implementation for this course is done using National Instruments LabVIEW software and hardware for control and Educational Control Products (ECP) hardware for the plants.

This site presents challenges faced by NASA engineers who are developing the next generation of aerospace vehicles. The challenges: thermal protection systems, spacecraft structures, electrodynamic propulsion systems, propellers, and personal satellite assistants. Students design, build, test, re-design, and re-build models that meet specified design criteria, using the same analytical skills as engineers.

" Student teams formulate and complete space/earth/ocean exploration-based design projects with weekly milestones. This course introduces core engineering themes, principles, and modes of thinking, and includes exercises in written and oral communication and team building. Specialized learning modules enable teams to focus on the knowledge required to complete their projects, such as machine elements, electronics, design process, visualization and communication. Examples of projects include surveying a lake for millfoil from a remote controlled aircraft, then sending out robotic harvesters to clear the invasive growth; and exploration to search for the evidence of life on a moon of Jupiter, with scientists participating through teleoperation and supervisory control of robots."

Examines the development of computing techniques and technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly critical evaluation of how the very idea of "computer" changes and evolves over time. Emphasis is on technical innovation, industrial development, social context, and the role of government. Topics include Babbage, Hollerith, differential analyzers, control systems, ENIAC, radar, operations research, computers as scientific instruments, the rise of "computer science," artificial intelligence, personal computers, and networks. Includes class visits by members of the MIT community who have made important historical contributions. This course focuses on one particular aspect of the history of computing: the use of the computer as a scientific instrument. The electronic digital computer was invented to do science, and its applications range from physics to mathematics to biology to the humanities. What has been the impact of computing on the practice of science? Is the computer different from other scientific instruments? Is computer simulation a valid form of scientific experiment? Can computer models be viewed as surrogate theories? How does the computer change the way scientists approach the notions of proof, expertise, and discovery? No comprehensive history of scientific computing has yet been written. This seminar examines scientific articles, participants' memoirs, and works by historians, sociologists, and anthropologists of science to provide multiple perspectives on the use of computers in diverse fields of physical, biological, and social sciences and the humanities. We explore how the computer transformed scientific practice, and how the culture of computing was influenced, in turn, by scientific applications.

This course is an introduction to the consideration of technology as the outcome of particular technical, historical, cultural, and political efforts, especially in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include industrialization of production and consumption, development of engineering professions, the emergence of management and its role in shaping technological forms, the technological construction of gender roles, and the relationship between humans and machines.

The objective of this lab is to understand the dynamics of an inverted pendulum with a translating base. Students will use feedback to control an unstable system. The controller will be designed and implemented in LabVIEW using the Simulation Module and Control Design Toolkit.

The objective of this lab is to use frequency domain techniques to design a phase-lead compensator for a rigid, rotational disk. The controller will be designed and implemented in LabVIEW using the Simulation Module and Control Design Toolkit.

The objective of this lab is to understand the individual effects of proportional, derivative, and integral action. Students will design and implement both PD and PID controllers for the 1DOF rigid-body system, the ECP Rectilinear Plant. The controller will be designed and implemented in LabVIEW using the Simulation Module and Control Design Toolkit.

Few classroom topics generate as much excitement as rockets. The scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical foundations of rocketry provide exciting classroom opportunities for authentic hands-on, minds-on experimentation. The activities and lesson plans contained in this educator guide emphasize hands-on science, prediction, data collection and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. The guide also contains background information about the history of rockets and basic rocket science. The rocket activities in this guide support national curriculum standards for science, mathematics and technology.

The guide contains new and updated lessons and activities from the original Rockets Educator Guide published in 2003.

The objective of this lab is to understand the dynamics of an inverted pendulum with a rotating base. Students will use state feedback to control on unstable system. The self-erecting control algorithm will be implemented in LabVIEW, such that once the pendulum control algorithm is finished, control switches to inverted pendulum algorithm. The controllers will be implemented in LabVIEW using the Simulation Module.

This site explores the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, Arctic wildlife, migratory birds, stars and black holes, sky watching, the Galapagos Islands, invasive species, living fossils of the Bahamian sea floor, views of earth, milestones of flight, shade grown coffee, species of Indian River Lagoon, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, polio, and portraits of famous scientists, inventors, and engineers.

Subject presents a range of advanced topics in integrated logistics and supply chain management. Conducted in a lecture-discussion format, with participation of corporate executives as guest lecturers. Students prepare industry assessment analyses and make formal classroom presentations. Specific topics alternate from year to year, but basic content includes procurement strategies and strategic sourcing, dynamic pricing and revenue management tactics, mitigation of supply chain risk through supply contracts, strategic outsourcing of supply chain chain functions and operations, management and operation of third party logistics providers, and management of supply chain security.

The objective of this lab is to design, simulate, and implement a state feedback compensator for a 2DOF mass-spring system. The controller will be designed and implemented in LabVIEW using the Simulation Module and Control Design Toolkit.

The objective of this lab is to review of the behavior of second-order systems. Students will use gain a better understanding of the importance system identification. Students will also develop a hands-on understanding of the concept of hardware gain and why it will play a crucial role in controller design. System Identification will be implemented in LabVIEW using the System Identification Toolkit.