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Named AIAA Fellow • Seniors Test Their Wings |
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Mueller
Named AIAA Fellow The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has named Thomas J. Mueller, the Roth-Gibson Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, a Fellow in Aerospace Sciences. Mueller is a leading researcher in the complex flow phenomena present at low Reynolds numbers and is well known by the aeroacoustics community as an exceptional experimentalist who has made significant contributions to his field. The author and co-author of several books and numerous journal articles, Mueller also served as director of engineering research and graduate studies from 1985 to 1989 and as chair of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from 1988 to 1996. He joined the University in 1965. He is the fourth member of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical
Engineering to receive this honor: Viola D. Hank Professor Hafiz
M. Atassi, Professor Robert C.
Nelson, and Professor Eric J. Jumper also hold the title of AIAA Fellow. |
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Seniors
Test Their Wings Each spring aerospace engineering seniors are required to participate in a capstone design course. According to instructor Thomas C. Corke, the Clark Equipment Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, the purpose of the course is to give students a hands-on design experience. By working through the various steps of the design process, students learn the use of constraints; they come to understand the interactions between competing technologies; and they develop an appreciation for the roles of planning and communication. “Consequences are not as critical in a senior design course as they would be in the real world,” says Stephen M. Batill, professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, “but the skill set our students gain from this experience is priceless. It makes a difference in their effectiveness as professional engineers.” This year the challenge was to design and build a remote piloted aircraft which could carry a specified payload, take-off on grass in less than 300 ft., and land safely. Although students who had experience building model aircraft or working with electronics may have held a slight advantage, each team was required to use the same equipment and follow specific design parameters: Planes were required to feature a fixed main wing, house an electric motor and battery power pack, and carry an internal cargo which included a “sport” propeller, an on-board microprocessor, and a digital radio control system that featured a minimum of seven channels. Student teams worked throughout the semester, first creating the “paper” design of the plane and then making a formal presentation to the rest of the class on their vehicles and their predicted performance. Next, teams developed a full set of CAD-CAM drawings, including details of individual components. Parts they could not purchase were manufactured by the students in the aerospace engineering laboratories. Flight tests were held at the South Bend Model Aircraft Club flying field, approximately 30 minutes from the Notre Dame campus. Each team’s aircraft was required to maintain a specific velocity at a constant altitude and also achieve a change in altitude through a minimum of a 100-ft. climb. During the flight test, the microprocessor aboard each plane transmitted information regarding the velocity and altitude of the aircraft to a laptop computer located on the ground. Students analyzed this information and included it in their final presentations, which were made to classmates and an industry panel. Panel participants were Daniel T. Jensen, a senior project engineer for the Rolls-Royce Corporation who received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Notre Dame in 1990; Gregory Addington, a research aerospace engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory who received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University in 1996 and a doctorate in 1998; Frank C. Berrier and Christian V. Rice of the Boeing Corporation; and Steven Eno of the Honeywell Corporation. Mechanical engineering students are also required to participate in a senior design course. It is typically offered during the fall semester. For more information on the senior aircraft design course and to view flights of each team’s aircraft, visit http://www.nd.edu/~engineer/ame441. [back to top] |
