Do you need proof that driving is a dangerous activity? More Americans have died in car crashes over the past 100 years than in all the wars the U.S. has ever fought combined. More than 40,000 Americans die each year on the nation's highways, most as the result of high-speed collisions. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn how engineers developed the air bag, an important automobile-safety device now found in most cars.

Recommended for: Grades 3-12

An analysis of historical structures is presented in this class, presented in themed sections based around construction materials. Structures from all periods of history are analyzed. The goal of the class is to provide an understanding of the preservation of historic structures for all students.

This studio will investigate the social, physiological and phenomenological elements of a student gathering place on the MIT campus. Whether it is simply for socializing or for more specific events, the student gathering place will serve as a refuge from the vigorous educational environment of the Institute, and reinforce the sense of "play" through a sensible organization of the program. The place will foster a casual discovery of a sense of "being": a reflection upon the student's own existence based upon an intellectual attitude of acting and group events. To create a space that inspires, rather than imposes: such a discovery is the foremost challenge of this studio.

" This studio will investigate the social, programmatic, tectonic and phenomenological performance and character of a student gathering place on the MIT campus. Whether it is simply for socializing or for more specific events, the student gathering place will serve as a refuge from the vigorous educational environment of the Institute, and it will reinforce a critical sense of "place" through the almost logical organization of its program. The place will foster a casual discovery of "being": a reflection upon the student's own existence based upon participation in group events and an intellectual attitude toward acting. To create a space that inspires, rather than imposes: such a discovery is the foremost challenge of this studio."

The theme that unites the Level II studios in the fall semester is a focus upon the making of architecture and built form as a tectonic, technical and materially driven endeavor It is a design investigation that is rooted in a larger culture of materiality and the associated phenomena, but a study of the language and production of built form as an integrated response to the conceptual proposition of the project. The studio will look to works of architecture where the material tectonic and its resultant technology or fabrication become instrumental to the realization of the ideas, in whatever form they may take. This becomes the art of technology - suggesting a level of innovation and creative manipulation as part of the design process to transform material into a composition of beauty and poetry as well as environmental control. In this regard the studio will look to the works and design processes of a number of architects including Shigeru Ban, Peter Zumthor, Herzog and deMeuron, Kazuyo Sejima, Richard Horden, Rick Joy and Glenn Murcutt among others.

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.

Students learn about stress and strain by designing and building beams using polymer clay. They compete to find the best beam strength to beam weight ratio, and learn about the trade-offs engineers make when designing a structure.

The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the concept of the engineering design process and to teach them how to apply it. In "Broken Bones," students will explore the steps of the engineering design process. They will first receive some background instruction about biomedical engineering or bioengineering. Then they will learn about material selection and material properties by using a guide created for them. Students will then break into small groups and brainstorm. Each student group is assigned a specific design problem. Students will be given materials and asked to create a prototype. To finish, students will communicate their solution through a poster presentation.

In the exploration of ways to use solar energy, students investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design.

Students are introduced to chemical engineering and learn about its many different applications. They are provided with a basic introduction to matter and its different properties and states. An associated hands-on activity gives students a chance to test their knowledge of the states of matter and how to make observations using their five senses: touch, smell, sound, sight and taste.

Working in engineering project teams, students evaluate sites for the construction of a pyramid. They base their decision on site features as provided by a surveyor's report; distance from the quarry, river and palace; and other factors they deem important to the project based on their team's values and priorities.

This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service describes the different kinds of sediments that make up coastlines, with a focus on the variety in color, size, and sorting.

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.

The goal of the activities is for students to understand the basics of engineering associated with safety products. Using a bicycle helmet helps to protect the brain and neck during a crash. In order to do this effectively, helmets must have some sort of crushable material to absorb the shock of a collision and a strap system to ensure that the protection stays in place. The exact design of the helmet will depend on the needs and specifications of the user. In this activity students will be introduced to the biomechanical characteristics of helmets. They will be asked to incorporate these characteristics into designs for helmets for various applications.

This course on sustainability will cover the implications of this topic on engineering, design, and architecture. The course will begin with a general survey and discussion of current trends, followed by the introduction of the life cycle assessment (LCA) method as a rigorous, quantitative alternative to current popular sustainability measures for the built environment.

The course considers the growing popularity of sustainability and its implications for the practice of engineering, particularly for the built environment. Two particular methodologies are featured: life cycle assessment (LCA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The fundamentals of each approach will be presented. Specific topics covered include water and wastewater management, energy use, material selection, and construction.

In this design activity, students investigate materials engineering as it applies to weather and clothing. The students will design and analyze different combinations of materials for effectiveness in specific weather conditions. Analysis will include simulation of temperature, wind and wetness elements, as well as the functionality and durability of the final prototype.

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the basic elements of our Earth's crust: rocks, soils and minerals. They learn how we categorize rocks, soils and minerals and how they are literally the foundation for our civilization. Students also explore how engineers use rocks, soils and minerals to create the buildings, roads, vehicles, electronics, chemicals, and other objects we use to enhance our lives.

Learners respond confidently to their desire to learn about natural phenomena; they investigate relationships and solve problems within the context of science, technology and the environment. In this activity, learners will show an understanding of the interrelationships between science and technology, society and the environment.