This course extends fluid mechanic concepts from Unified Engineering to the aerodynamic performance of wings and bodies in sub/supersonic regimes. It generally has four components: subsonic potential flows, including source/vortex panel methods; viscous flows, including laminar and turbulent boundary layers; aerodynamics of airfoils and wings, including thin airfoil theory, lifting line theory, and panel method/interacting boundary layer methods; and supersonic and hypersonic airfoil theory. Course material varies each year depending upon the focus of the design problem.

This course extends fluid mechanic concepts from Unified Engineering to the aerodynamic performance of wings and bodies in sub/supersonic regimes. 16.100 generally has four components: subsonic potential flows, including source/vortex panel methods; viscous flows, including laminar and turbulent boundary layers; aerodynamics of airfoils and wings, including thin airfoil theory, lifting line theory, and panel method/interacting boundary layer methods; and supersonic and hypersonic airfoil theory. Course material varies each year depending upon the focus of the design problem.

Classical dynamics beyond Unified Engineering. Application of vector kinematics to analyze the translation and rotation of rigid bodies. Formulation and solution of the equations of motion using both Newtonian and Lagrangian methods. Analytical and numerical solutions to rigid body dynamics problems. Applications to aircraft flight dynamics and spacecraft attitude dynamics.

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

What makes an airplane fly? Discover the connection between Newton's third law of motion and flight in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.

This team-taught subject is for doctoral students working on emerging technologies at the interface of technology, policy and societal issues. It integrates concepts of research strategy and design from a variety of disciplines. The class addresses problem identification and formulation of research topics, the role of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and the use of various data collection techniques. Coursework focuses on students' thesis proposals, faculty-student study panels, critical evaluation of research design, and ethical issues in conducting research and gathering data.

Introduces the concepts and applications of navigation techniques using celestial bodies and satellite positioning systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). Topics include astronomical observations, radio navigation systems, the relationship between conventional navigation results and those obtained from GPS, and the effects of the security systems, Selective Availability, and anti-spoofing on GPS results. Laboratory sessions cover the use of sextants, astronomical telescopes, and field use of GPS. Application areas covered include ship, automobile, and aircraft navigation and positioning, including very precise positioning applications.

"Phenomenology (Parts A, B, C)" was created at the Boston Film and Video Foundation as a New England Film Video Fellowship. In part A, a ladder is filmed from different angles and perspectives. In part C, slowly spinning objects are filmed in close-up, lending them an ironically powerful presence. A head of broccoli, an artichoke, an apple, a can of Budweiser -- all loom somehow larger than life. Visual text drops in and out of the picture frame, moving subtitles that serve to question and shift the meanings of the images that appear before us. Obliquely addressing ethics and commodity, the text is personal and political at the same time. A doormat fills the visual frame and the text asks the viewer to consider the object's manufacturer. The text maintains a certain levity and at times evokes the double meanings and appropriations of Jenny Holzer's "truisms." "I'm in love with a constructivist," the voiceless words tell us. As the work draws to a close, the text focuses on a future vision of a world inhabited by floating people. The imagery of airplanes and a disembodied camera technique capturing movement through city streets serve as illustration to this concept of flight.