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2.00A

Designing for the Future: Earth, Sea, and Space

3-3-3 units · Undergraduate

Student teams formulate and complete space/earth/ocean exploration-based design projects with weekly milestones. Introduces core engineering themes, principles, and modes of thinking. 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. Includes exercises in written and oral communication and team building. Examples of projects include surveying a lake for millfoil, from a remote controlled aircraft, and 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. Enrollment limited; preference to freshmen.

Spring 2009 · Exploring Sea, Space, & Earth: Fundamentals of Engineering Design

Topics

  • Hydrostatics, pressure and water proofing
  • Design brainstorming, project ideas, Solidworks repository development
  • Engineering ethics and using your best judgment
  • Student presentations: in-class design review
  • Design iterations, recalculations
  • Cool robots and bomb disposal
  • Bio-robots, gecko feet, and cool stuff!
  • Engineering and society
  • Guest lecture
  • Pool testing at the Z-Center
  • Engineering at MIT: choice of majors
  • Guest lecturer: Prof. Steve Dubowsky, MIT Mechanical Engineering, mobile robots
  • Guest lecturer: Prof. Sangbae Kim, MIT Mechanical Engineering, bioinspired design
  • Guest lecturer: Dr. Sheri White, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, underwater exploration
  • Guest lecturer: Prof. Jeff Hoffman, MIT Aeronautics & Astronautics, aerospace engineering design
  • Final student poster presentations
  • Lab clean up, evaluations

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: Calculus I (GIR) and Physics I (GIR) U (Spring) 3-3-3 units

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