This unit has students design and build foam tubing roller coasters. The design process integrates energy concepts as they test and evaluate their designs that address the task as an engineer would. The goal is for students to understand the basics of engineering design associated with kinetic and potential energy to build an optimal roller coaster. The marble starts with potential energy that is then converted to kinetic energy as it moves along the track. The diameter of the loops that the marble will traverse without falling out is depended on the kinetic energy obtained by the marble.

This semester students are asked to transform the Hereshoff Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, through processes of erasure and addition. Hereshoff Manufacturing was recognized as one of the premier builders of America's Cup racing boats between 1890's and 1930's. The studio however, is about more then the program. It is about land, water, and wind and the search for expressing materially and tectonically the relationships between these principle conditions. That is, where the land is primarily about stasis (docking, anchoring and referencing our locus), water's fluidity holds the latent promise of movement and freedom. Movement is activated by wind, allowing for negotiating the relationship between water and land.

In this multi-day activity, students explore environments, ecosystems, energy flow and organism interactions by creating a scale model biodome, following the steps of the engineering design process. The Procedure section provides activity instructions for Biodomes unit, lessons 2-6, as students work through Parts 1-6 to develop their model biodome. Subjects include energy flow and food chains, basic needs of plants and animals, and the importance of decomposers. Students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence of an ecosystem can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our own communities. This activity can be conducted as either a very structured or open-ended design.

Athletes often wear protective gear to keep themselves safe in contact sports. In this spirit, students follow the steps of engineering design process as they design, build and test protective padding for an egg drop. Many of the design considerations surrounding an egg drop are similar to sports equipment design. Watching the transformation of energy from potential to kinetic, observing the impact and working under material constraints gives students a chance to experience some of the challenges engineers face in designing equipment to protect athletes.

Introduces design as a computational enterprise in which rules are developed to compose and describe architectural and other designs. The class covers topics such as shapes, shape arithmetic, symmetry, spatial relations, shape computations, and shape grammars. It focuses on the application of shape grammars in creative design, and teaches shape grammar fundamentals through in-class, hands-on exercises with abstract shape grammars. The class discusses issues related to practical applications of shape grammars.

In this activity, students examine how to grow plants the most efficiently. They imagine that they are designing a biofuels production facility and need to know how to efficiently grow plants to use in this facility. As a means of solving this design problem, they plan a scientific experiment in which they investigate how a given variable (of their choice) affects plant growth. They then make predictions about the outcomes and record their observations after two weeks regarding the condition of the plants' stem, leaves and roots. They use these observations to guide their solution to the engineering design problem. The biological processes of photosynthesis and transpiration are briefly explained to help students make informed decisions about planning and interpreting their investigation and its results.

The Design Process is a modern approach to the teaching of practical skills in schools, colleges and universities. It is sometimes called Product Design. In this course learners will learn how to define the Design Proces and explain the framework of design. This course discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the design process and it illustrates the design process diagrammatically. It explains problem identification techniques and discusses ways of analysing products to be designed. In addition, this course discusses the importance of investigating into problems before designing and making.

In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad designs an invention that will help them cross a swamp and also reach the top of a tall cliff.

Teaches creative design based on the scientific method through the design, engineering, and manufacture of a detailed inlaid tile. This is an introductory lecture/studio course designed to teach students the basic principles of design and expose them to the design process. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to the terminology and concepts that underlie all forms of visual art; which-in many ways-forms the basis for the design of all physical objects. Along with learning mechanical skills, thinking both critically and visually, and working with different media, the students will consider how the arts grow out of and respond to particular cultural contexts and ideas; and how these thinking patterns can be applied to virtually all types of design. Presentations, lectures, demonstrations, discussions and various artistic works will be used to show students how other artists and designers have dealt with the same issues they will be facing in lab. Each class will begin with a critique of the students' homework, followed by a discussion (and presentation when appropriate) of the pertinent issues of that week. All aspects of the course will aid the teams of students in designing and building a major inlaid tile whose elements are designed as digital solid models and manufactured on an abrasive waterjet machining center. The course will conclude with an exhibit of the completed tiles open to the MIT and the Greater-Boston public.

A two-semester subject sequence (of which this is the first half) that demonstrates the design process through its application to a working model-scale ocean system. Emphasis is on carrying out the design and implementation of the system, including demonstration of its operation in the marine environment. Spring Term: Introduction to the design process and its application to ocean engineering. Design project with students developing system definition and completing its preliminary design. Students are instructed in the design process, embedded systems programming and interfacing techniques, sensors, actuators, and the control of marine systems. Communications skills are honed through written and oral reports and engineering ethics are discussed. Fall Term: Students work as a group to design, plan, construct, test, and operate the model-scale ocean system defined in 13.017. Special emphasis is placed on testing the system in the marine environment and analyzing its performance in relation to the original system specification. The social aspects of engineering are discussed including group dynamics and time management. The specific design project varies from year to year and is announced to the students on the first day of class in 13.017.

A two-semester subject sequence (of which this is the first half) that demonstrates the design process through its application to a working model-scale ocean system. Emphasis is on carrying out the design and implementation of the system, including demonstration of its operation in the marine environment. Spring Term: Introduction to the design process and its application to ocean engineering. Design project with students developing system definition and completing its preliminary design. Students are instructed in the design process, embedded systems programming and interfacing techniques, sensors, actuators, and the control of marine systems. Communications skills are honed through written and oral reports and engineering ethics are discussed. Fall Term: Students work as a group to design, plan, construct, test, and operate the model-scale ocean system defined in 13.017. Special emphasis is placed on testing the system in the marine environment and analyzing its performance in relation to the original system specification. The social aspects of engineering are discussed including group dynamics and time management. The specific design project varies from year to year and is announced to the students on the first day of class in 13.017.

This course covers the complete cycle of designing an ocean system using computational design tools for the conceptual and preliminary design stages. Students complete the projects in teams with each student responsible for a specific subsystem. Lectures cover such topics as hydrodynamics; structures; power and thermal aspects of ocean vehicles; environment, materials, and construction for ocean use; and generation and evaluation of design alternatives. The course focuses on innovative design concepts chosen from high-speed ships, submersibles, autonomous vehicles, and floating and submerged deep-water offshore platforms. Lectures on ethics in engineering practice are included, and instruction and practice in oral and written communication is provided.

Subject engages a dialogue with architecture and urbanism from the perspective of the visual artist. Ideas investigated thematically from early modernist practices to the most recent examples of contemporary production. Art making as an adjunct to the design process is challenged by both synthetic and critical models of production. Visual art practice is examined as a conceptual prologue to architectural and urbanistic thinking, as an integrated part of the design process, and as a critical epilogue. Lectures and discussions lead to the development of realized projects to be coordinated with architectural studio. In this class we will examine how the idea of the city has been "translated" by artists, architects, and other diverse disciplines. We will consider how collaborations between artists and architects might provide opportunities for rethinking / redesigning urban spaces. The class will look specifically at planned cities like Brasilia, Las Vegas, Canberra, and Celebration and compare such tabula rasa designs with the redesign of recyclable urban spaces demonstrated in projects such as Ground Zero, Barcelona 2004, and Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway. While the course will involve some reading and discussion, coursework will focus largely on the students' own projects / interventions that should evolve over the course of the semester. Of the two weekly class meetings, one will be a group discussion or lecture with the whole class and visiting guests, and the other will be an individual meeting between the student and the instructor to discuss his or her work for the class, including the final project.

Examination and practice in the application of many mechanical design elements, including control components. Students working in groups design, fabricate, and test prototype devices in response to requests from industrial sponsors. Topics: typical machine elements, power transmission elements, motors and prime movers, control elements, material selection, and assembly techniques. In 2.72, students will learn the theory and experience the practice of machine design in the context of real world machine design hardware projects. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship of machine elements to the design process; including their availability, their uses, and the methods for determining their potential performance. Each group will complete and document a design layout for a prototype device.

Examination and practice in the application of many mechanical design elements, including control components. Students working in groups design, fabricate, and test prototype devices in response to requests from industrial sponsors. Topics: typical machine elements, power transmission elements, motors and prime movers, control elements, material selection, and assembly techniques. This course provides an advanced treatment of machine elements such as bearings, springs, gears, cams, and mechanisms. Analysis of these elements includes extensive application of core engineering curriculum including solid mechanics and fluid dynamics. The course offers practice in skills needed for machine design such as estimation, drawing, and experimentation. Students work in small teams to design and build machines that address real-world challenges.

" This is an advanced course on modeling, design, integration and best practices for use of machine elements such as bearings, springs, gears, cams and mechanisms. Modeling and analysis of these elements is based upon extensive application of physics, mathematics and core mechanical engineering principles (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, manufacturing, estimation, computer simulation, etc.). These principles are reinforced via (1) hands-on laboratory experiences wherein students conduct experiments and disassemble machines and (2) a substantial design project wherein students model, design, fabricate and characterize a mechanical system that is relevant to a real world application. Students master the materials via problems sets that are directly related to, and coordinated with, the deliverables of their project. Student assessment is based upon mastery of the course materials and the student's ability to synthesize, model and fabricate a mechanical device subject to engineering constraints (e.g. cost and time/schedule)."

This course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design and implement a product, using rapid prototyping methods and computer-aid tools. The first of two phases challenges each student team to meet a set of design requirements and constraints for a structural component. A course of iteration, fabrication, and validation completes this manual design cycle. During the second phase, each team conducts design optimization using structural analysis software, with their phase one prototype as a baseline.

This course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design and implement a product, using rapid prototyping methods and computer-aid tools. The first of two phases challenges each student team to meet a set of design requirements and constraints for a structural component. A course of iteration, fabrication, and validation completes this manual design cycle. During the second phase, each team conducts design optimization using structural analysis software, with their phase one prototype as a baseline.

This course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design and implement a product, using rapid prototyping methods and computer-aid tools. The first of two phases challenges each student team to meet a set of design requirements and constraints for a structural component. A course of iteration, fabrication, and validation completes this manual design cycle. During the second phase, each team conducts design optimization using structural analysis software, with their phase one prototype as a baseline.