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MIT Graduate Admissions Policy Update

The department of Mechanical Engineering will not require GRE tests for applications for graduate admission for 2025, nor will we use GRE scores as a basis for evaluating candidates for admission in the 2025 application process.

We offer 9 Graduate Degrees

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (SMME)

Master of Science in Ocean Engineering (SMOE)

Master of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (SMNAME)

Master of Science in Oceanographic Engineering (SMOGE, joint MIT/WHOI degree)

Master of Engineering in Manufacturing

Mechanical Engineer’s (ME) Degree

Naval Engineer’s (NE) Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Science (ScD), which differs in name only (this includes the joint MIT/WHOI degrees)

Dual degree with Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) Program in MIT Sloan School of Management (Please go to the following website: https://lgo.mit.edu/ to learn more about applying through LGO.)

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Sangbae Kim: Inspired by Nature

Associate Professor Sangbae Kim describes his cutting-edge research in the area of biomimetics, the study of biological systems as models for the design and engineering of robots.

Finger-shaped sensor enables more dexterous robots

Graduate student Alan (Jialiang) Zhao develop a long, curved touch, finger shaped sensor that could enable a robot to grasp and manipulate objects in multiple ways.

Self-powered sensor automatically harvests magnetic energy

Professor Steven Leeb and a team of researchers have developed a battery-free, self-powered sensor that can harvest energy from its environment.

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Prospective Graduate

Overview of the Biological Engineering (BE) PhD Program

MIT Biological Engineering’s mission is to generate and communicate new knowledge in the application of engineering principles in biological systems and to educate leaders in our discipline. We focus at the interface of engineering and biology by combining quantitative, physical, and integrative engineering principles with modern life sciences research to lead the field in the positive impacts of our research and effectiveness of our training programs. MIT BE offers a graduate PhD degree, and only accepts PhD applications through the annual Departmental process for admission fall term of the following year. Our program is an excellent match for ambitious applicants with extraordinary qualifications who want to advance the intellectual boundaries of biological engineering and make positive impacts on society through the creative and rigorous application of research in biological engineering.

PhD-level training in BE prepares students to conduct research that will:

• Explain how biological systems function in terms of biological/chemical/physical mechanisms, and how they respond when perturbed by endogenous, environmental, and therapeutic factors
• Engineer innovative technologies based on this understanding and apply technologies to address societal needs across all sectors including, but not limited to, biomedicine
• Establish new biology-based paradigms for solving problems in areas of science and engineering that have not historically been impacted by biological approaches

In addition, PhD-level training in BE prepares students to translate this research for positive impact in the world by developing skills to:

• Explain technical subject matter clearly, accurately, and in a compelling and contextual manner for a range of audiences
• Engage collaboratively in diverse teams to contribute biological engineering expertise needed for multidisciplinary projects
• Exercise intellectual and operational leadership to advance on goals in technically and organizationally complex scenarios
• Exhibit integrity and ethical judgment in the design of research and the application of research results

Degree Requirements

BE PhD students complete two core courses in the first year, supplemented with four additional electives ( Course Requirements ). Individual students pace their own progress through elective coursework in consultation with their academic advisor.

In addition to the course requirements, students perform a qualifying exam with written and oral components and submit a thesis proposal to be completed by the end of the fall term in their third year.

BE PhD students complete research rotations in the fall and winter of their first year and select a BE Faculty member as a research and thesis advisor. Students carry out thesis research with the guidance and support of their faculty advisor and a thesis committee formed by the student. Technical communication is an important part of the BE PhD curriculum. Students gain and practice scientific communication skills through one or more terms of teaching experience at the graduate or undergraduate level and research-focused activities including poster and oral presentations at Departmental events including our retreat, the Bioengineering and Toxicology Seminar (BATS) series, and culminating in delivery of a written PhD thesis and oral defense of their thesis work.

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The doctoral program in DMSE provides an advanced educational experience that is versatile, intellectually challenging, and of enduring value for high-level careers in materials science and engineering. It develops students’ ability, confidence, and originality to grasp and solve challenging problems involving materials.

Required Subjects

The core courses define the basis of materials science and engineering as a discipline—what every PhD materials scientist or materials engineer from MIT ought to know. The first-year student seminars and core subjects provide a rigorous, unified foundation for subsequent advanced-level subjects and thesis research. Here are the required subjects:

• 3.20 (Materials at Equilibrium) (15 units, Year 1, fall)
• 3.22 (Structure and Mechanics of Materials) (12 units, Year 1, fall)
• 3.201 (Introduction to DMSE) (3 units, Year 1, fall)
• 3.21 (Kinetic Processes in Materials) (15 units, Year 1, spring)
• 3.23 (Electrical, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Materials) (12 units, Year 1, spring)
• 3.202 (Essential Research Skills) (3 units, Year 1, spring)
• 3.995 (First-Year Thesis Research) (18 units, Year 1, spring)

English Evaluation Test

International graduate students may be required to take the MIT English Evaluation Test upon arrival in the fall semester. Results from the test will indicate whether the student will be required to take an English class at MIT. Some students may qualify for a waiver of the English Evaluation Test:

• Students who studied at a US university or an international university whose primary language of instruction is English for at least three years and received a degree from that US/international university.
• Students whose language of instruction was English during primary and secondary school years.

The DMSE Graduate Academic Office informs incoming students by early summer if they qualify for this waiver.

Electives and Concentrations

Doctoral students must take three post-core graduate electives approved by the thesis committee. Refer to the MIT Subjects Listings and Schedule for the subjects offered and their schedules.

Graduate students can use the three electives to create a specialization or concentration in a particular research area of materials science and engineering, or they can choose a broader educational experience by picking subjects in three different areas.

Sample Concentration Areas

Students who choose a concentration area have several options. Below is a list of sample concentrations available.

• Electronic, magnetic, and photonic materials
• High-performance structural materials
• Computational materials science
• Biomaterials
• Polymeric materials
• Materials for energy and the environment
• Nanoscale materials
• Materials processing materials economics and manufacturing, entrepreneurship
• Laboratory/characterization/instrumentation
• Materials design
• Experimental/characterization computational materials application/design

Electives Outside the Department

Students may enroll in one non-DMSE graduate elective that is 9-12 units with the approval of their thesis committee. Students may propose to enroll in two or more non-DMSE graduate electives by submitting a petition to the Departmental Committee on Graduate Studies (DCGS). Submit the petition form in advance of enrolling in the subjects to the DMSE Graduate Academic Office for committee review, including a statement on why you would like to enroll in these subjects, your signature, and your thesis advisor’s signature.

• Download the Graduate Student Petition (pdf) and complete it.
• Send the completed petition to [email protected] .

The minor requirement is designed to encourage the development of intellectual breadth at an advanced level. A program of study must be discussed with and approved by a student’s research supervisor, so it should be proposed early in a student’s doctoral program.

DMSE Doctoral Track Students

There are two minor requirement options for DMSE graduate students on the doctoral track.

Academic Minor

Here are some general guidelines regarding an academic minor.

• The selected subjects may or may not be related to the thesis research area.
• The subjects taken must be at an advanced level. It is recommended that two graduate-level courses be taken (24 units).
• Minor programs composed of one graduate level and one advanced undergraduate-level course (24 units), or three advanced undergraduate courses (33 units) that were not used to obtain a bachelors or master’s degree may also be acceptable. An exception is a minor in a beginning Global Languages sequence in which two 9-unit G subjects would most likely be approved.

Teaching Minor

Only DMSE doctoral track students who have passed their doctoral examinations may submit a teaching minor program proposal. Students generally begin a teaching minor in Year 3 of graduate study. Here are some general guidelines:

• Students must serve as a teaching intern for two semesters. They are designated teaching interns during the semesters in which they are earning academic credit toward the teaching minor requirement.
• Students must earn 24 units of academic credit for 3.691-3.699 (Teaching Materials Science and Engineering).
• Students must take 3.69 (Teaching Fellows Seminar) while serving as a teaching intern. The subject is offered each fall semester and provides instruction on how to teach lectures and recitations; how to prepare a syllabus, writing assignments and examinations; grading; and how to resolve complaints.

Students must submit a form outlining the proposed minor program to the DCGS Chair for approval.

• Attach copies of the catalog descriptions of all subjects included in the program proposal form.
• List the subjects to be taken to fulfill the minor requirement.
• Preview the Minor Program Proposal (pdf) and prepare your responses. Then click the button below, add the responses, and submit the proposal via DocuSign.

DMSE Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM) Doctoral Track Students

To complete the minor requirement, PPSM students must do the following:

• Take 3.20 (Materials at Equilibrium) and 3.21 (Kinetic Processes in Materials).
• Take one other graduate subject of at least 9 units that is not related to polymeric materials for academic credit.
• List the subjects to be taken to fulfill the minor requirement and submit the proposal. The written request will need to have the catalogue description of the third subject.
• Preview the Minor Program Proposal (pdf) and prepare your responses. Then click the button below, add your responses, and send the proposal via DocuSign.

Qualifying Exams

MIT requires that all doctoral students successfully complete written and oral evaluations to qualify as a candidate for the doctoral degree. The DMSE qualifying exams consist of two-step procedure.

Core Curriculum Assessment and First-Year Research Progress

In the first two semesters of the graduate program, doctoral track students enroll in the four core subjects:

• 3.20 (Materials at Equilibrium)
• 3.21 (Kinetic Processes in Materials)
• 3.22 (Structure and Mechanical Properties of Materials)
• 3.23 (Electrical, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Materials)
• 3.201 (Introduction to DMSE)
• 3.202 (Essential Research Skills)

Students must also demonstrate satisfactory performance in research, including the selection of a research group in the fall term and receive a “J” grade in 3.995 (First-Year Thesis Research) in spring term.

First-Year Performance Evaluation

DCGS evaluates first-year performance on a Pass/No Pass basis:

The student has successfully completed the first-year requirements and is eligible to register for step two of the qualifying procedure, the Thesis Area Examination.

The student has not fully completed the first-year requirements and is not eligible to register for the Thesis Area Examination without DCGS approval. In situations in which students complete only some of the requirements, DCGS will consult with the student’s advisor and the instructors of the core classes to develop a remediation plan (for example, retaking a course). If a student’s overall GPA is below 3.5 or the student earns more than one grade of C or lower in the core classes, the student will receive an official academic progress warning letter from the Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education, in addition to a DCGS remediation plan.

Thesis Area Examination

After completing the core curriculum and review of first-year research progress, students select a research project for their PhD thesis. Selection of this topic is a decision made in agreement with their advisor. The TAE tests the student’s preparedness to conduct PhD research and provides feedback on the chosen PhD thesis project.

• The TAE consists of a written proposal and an oral presentation of the proposed research to the student’s TAE Committee. The written proposal is due in mid-January before the oral examination.
• TAE oral examinations are administered during the first two weeks in the spring term of Year 2. The DMSE Graduate Academic Office schedules the TAE oral examination after confirmation of the TAE Committee with DCGS.

Preparation for the TAE requires that a student work through aspects of a successful research proposal, including motivation, context, hypothesis, work plans, methods, expected results, and impact. A working understanding of relevant concepts from materials science and engineering core knowledge should be demonstrated throughout.

TAE Committee

The Thesis Area Examination is administered by a TAE Chair and two committee members.

• The chair of the committee is appointed by DCGS: a DMSE faculty member whose principal area of research and intellectual pursuits differ from that of the student’s thesis advisor(s).
• The identities of the other committee members should be discussed between the student and thesis advisor. The student is responsible for contacting these potential committee members and requesting their participating as part of the student’s TAE committee. At least one of the other two faculty examiners must also be DMSE faculty. The third member of the committee may be an MIT DMSE senior research associate, lecturer, or senior lecturer. If the student wants a Thesis Committee member from outside of the department, that member can be on the thesis committee but will not be part of the TAE Committee.
• The thesis advisor is not formally a member of the TAE Committee but is a non-voting attendee at the TAE who may make comments to the committee and provide information regarding the student and their research and progress following the examination after the student is excused from the examination room.

TAE Committee assignments are finalized by the end of October in the semester after the completion of the first-year requirements.

TAE Performance Evaluation

The TAE Committee evaluates performance on a Pass/Conditional Pass/No Pass basis:

The student has met all requirements to register in the program as a doctoral candidate starting the following term.

Conditional Pass

The student needs to address areas that require further mastery in the written proposal or oral presentation. The TAE Committee will outline an individualized remedial plan. After completing this requirement, the student will be eligible to register as a doctoral candidate.

The student is required to retake the TAE by scheduling another oral presentation and preparing another written proposal, if recommended, by the TAE Committee.

Doctoral Thesis

Doctoral candidates (who have passed the qualifying examinations) must complete a doctoral thesis that satisfies MIT and departmental requirements to receive the doctoral degree. General Institute Requirements are described in the MIT Bulletin and  MIT Graduate Policies and Procedures .

PhD Thesis Committee

The doctoral thesis committee advises the student on all aspects of the thesis experience, all the way up through the preparation and defense of the final thesis document. The student and thesis advisor will hold progress reviews with the thesis committee at least once a year. Written feedback to the student is required and also must be submitted to DCGS. The thesis advisor holds responsibility for assembling this written feedback and sharing it with the DMSE Graduate Academic Office and the student. After the TAE is completed, the final doctoral thesis committee is constituted of the members of the two (non-chair) Thesis Area Examination (TAE) committee members and the student’s advisor.

• The chair of the oral thesis area examination committee steps down.
• The final PhD Thesis Committee will have at least two members who are not advisors or co-advisors.
• At least half the members of the thesis committee must be DMSE faculty.

Petitions for thesis committee changes, including the addition of new committee members or committee members from outside of DMSE must be submitted the DCGS Chair.

• Download the  Graduate Student Petition (pdf) and complete it.
• Send the completed petition to  [email protected] .

Year 3 Update Meeting

After successful completion of the TAE, this meeting is held in the fall term or spring term of the student’s third year. The purpose of this meeting is to update the thesis committee of the student’s plans and progress and to seek guidance from the thesis committee on advancing toward the doctoral degree. Students must register for 3.998 (Doctoral Thesis Update Meeting). Starting with the thesis proposal as a point of departure, the student presents the revised vision of the path forward including challenges and obstacles. All members of the thesis committee are expected to be physically present at this meeting. This meeting is exclusive to the student and the thesis committee. The 3.998 Doctoral Thesis Update Meeting DocuSign Form must be sent to the DMSE Graduate Academic Office.

• Preview the  3.998 Doctoral Thesis Update Meeting Form (pdf) and prepare your responses. Then click the button below, add the responses, and send the form via DocuSign.

Plan-to-Finish Meeting

Approximately one year before the expected graduation, but no later than six months before the planned PhD defense, the student will schedule a Plan-to-Finish meeting with the thesis committee. The purpose of the meeting is for the committee to determine whether the student will likely be ready for graduation within a year. The student will present the projected outline of the thesis, important data that will become part of the thesis, and what still needs to be done.   The student will prepare a written document for the committee that will include the following:

• Research results
• Graduation timeline
• List of papers published or in preparation
• List of classes the student has taken to satisfy the PhD course requirements

The document must delivered to the committee one week before the presentation. This presentation is exclusive to the student and the thesis committee. At the end of the meeting the committee decides whether the student is likely to proceed toward the PhD defense, or whether another Plan-to-Finish meeting is necessary. The committee will then prepare brief written feedback to the student.

Doctoral Thesis and Oral Defense

DMSE’s long-standing emphasis on original research is a key element in the candidate’s educational development.

• Scheduling of the final PhD defense can take place no earlier than six months after a successful Plan-to-Finish meeting.
• The PhD thesis will be delivered to the committee members one month before the defense. 
• The committee members will respond in two weeks with comments on the written document, giving the student two weeks to modify the thesis.
• At least one week before the defense the candidate will provide copies of the final thesis document to Thesis Committee members and to the DMSE Graduate Academic Office along with the confirmed date, time, and room for the defense.

Defense Process

The DMSE Graduate Academic Office will publicize the defense.

• The defense begins with a formal presentation of the thesis of approximately 45 minutes.
• The floor is then opened to questions from the general audience, which is then excused.
• The Thesis Committee continues the examination of the candidate in private.
• The candidate is finally excused from the room and the committee votes.
• A majority yes vote is required to approve the thesis.

Doctoral Thesis Examination Report Form

Before the thesis defense, the student must prepare the Doctoral Thesis Examination Report Form, filling out the top portion of the form—term, name and email address, dates of Plan-to-Finish Meeting, Thesis Defense, and Thesis Examination Committee Member names. Preview the  Doctoral Thesis Examination Report Form (pdf) and prepare your responses. Then click the button below, add the responses, and send the form via DocuSign.

Scheduling a presentation in May and August may be difficult because of faculty unavailability and availability of presentation rooms. Faculty are not on academic appointments in the summer and are often on travel. This may lead to the need to reschedule your defense, in some cases into the next term. 

Thesis Format

The usual thesis format, a cohesive document, is traditional. Occasionally, the thesis may separate naturally into two or more sections, which are more directly publishable individually.

• The thesis should include a general introduction, abstract, and conclusions.
• The sections should be arranged so that the document reads as a whole.
• Put detailed descriptions of procedures and tables of data in appendices so that the thesis sections may be comparable in length and scope to journal articles

Use of this alternate format does not imply a change in the requirement for original research, in the student/thesis advisor relationship, or in their respective roles in producing the thesis document, all of which still apply.

Communications Resources

Specifications for Thesis Presentation

Get information on thesis preparation, formatting, and submission.

MIT Writing and Communications Center

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Thriving Stars helps answer the question, “What is a PhD degree and why do you want one?” Check out this story for a number of perspectives from EECS faculty leaders, EECS alumni and current graduate students working on their PhD degree: Thriving Stars tackles the question—what’s a PhD degree all about anyway??

The EECS Department is the largest in the School of Engineering with about 700 graduate students in the doctoral program. [Application is for the doctoral program only — there is no terminal masters degree, but all PhD students earn a masters degree as they work towards PhD.  A Masters of Engineering is only available for qualified MIT EECS undergraduates.] 

The application website (see link below) is available on September 15, 2024, for students who wish to apply for graduate admission in September 2025. The deadline for submitting completed applications is December 15, 2024.

Applicants to the MIT EECS graduate program should apply using the   EECS online admissions site . 

Questions not answered by the  FAQs ? Send inquiries to  [email protected] .

Need more information? Read  this graduate admissions information letter .

For information on our faculty and what they’re currently working on, take a look at our Faculty Interests Guide.

For more information about writing a statement of objectives, see this article from the MIT EECS Communication Lab .

Computational Science and Engineering PhD

77 Massachusetts Avenue Building 35-434B Cambridge MA, 02139

617-253-3725 [email protected]

Website: Computational Science and Engineering PhD

Application Opens: September 15

Deadline: December 1 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Fee: $75.00

Note: Applicants interested in Computer Science must apply to through the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science PhD program .

Terms of Enrollment

Fall Term (September)

Standalone Program:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computational Science and Engineering

Joint Program:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Civil Engineering and Computation
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Environmental Engineering and Computation
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mechanical Engineering and Computation
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computational Materials Science and Engineering
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Chemical Engineering and Computation
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computational Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Aerospace Engineering and Computational Science
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mathematics and Computational Science
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nuclear Engineering and Computation
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Computational Nuclear Science and Engineering

Affiliated Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Studies
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nuclear Science and Engineering

Standardized Tests

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

• General test not required for Fall 2024 admission cycle
• Institute code: 3514
• Department code: 0000

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

• Minimum score required: 7
• Electronic scores send to: MIT Graduate Admissions

TOEFL exam may be accepted in special cases. Waivers are not offered.

Financial Support

The CCSE PhD is an interdisciplinary program that collaborates with eight affiliated departments. As financial support may vary by department, CCSE graduate students are encouraged to contact their home department for more information.

Application Requirements

• Online application (including Subjects Taken section)
• Statement of objectives (limited to one page)
• Three letters of recommendation
• Transcripts
• English proficiency exam scores
• CV or resume
• GRE scores (not required for Fall 2023 admission cycle)

Special Instructions

The Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) PhD program allows students to specialize at the doctoral level in a computation-related field of their choice through focused coursework and a doctoral thesis. Applications from candidates who have a strong foundation in core disciplinary areas of mathematics, engineering, physics, or related fields are strongly encouraged.

Applicants interested in Computer Science: Please explore the offerings of the  Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

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MIT Doctoral Program in Computational Science and Engineering

• CSE PhD Overview
• Dept-CSE PhD Overview
• CSE Doctoral Theses
• Program Overview and Curriculum
• For New CCSE Students
• Terms of Reference

MIT Doctoral Program in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE PhD)

Program overview.

The standalone doctoral program in Computational Science and Engineering ( PhD in CSE)  enables students to specialize at the doctoral level in fundamental, methodological aspects of computational science via focused coursework and a thesis. The emphasis of thesis research activities is the development and analysis of broadly applicable computational approaches that advance the state of the art.

Students are awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in Computational Science and Engineering upon successful completion of the program requirements and defense of a thesis describing significant contributions to the CSE field. Program requirements include a course of study comprising nine graduate subjects and a graduate seminar. Core and concentration subjects cover six “ways of thinking” fundamental to CSE: (i) discretization and numerical methods for partial differential equations; (ii) optimization methods; (iii) statistics and data-driven modeling; (iv) high-performance computing and/or algorithms; (v) mathematical foundations (e.g., functional analysis, probability); and (vi) modeling (i.e., a subject that treats mathematical modeling in any science or engineering discipline). Subjects taken as part of an MIT SM program can be counted toward the coursework requirement provided they satisfy core, concentration, or elective requirements as set forth  here ; consultation and approval by the program director(s) and/or administrator regarding the application of such courses toward program credit is always required.

Students applying to this program are expected to have a degree in CSE, applied mathematics, or another field that prepares them for an advanced degree in CSE. More information about the application process, requirements, and relevant deadlines can be found on the  Admissions section .

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Modeling the threat of nuclear war

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It’s a question that occupies significant bandwidth in the world of nuclear arms security: Could hypersonic missiles, which fly at speeds of least five times the speed of sound, increase the likelihood of nuclear war?

Eli Sanchez, who recently completed his doctoral studies at MIT's Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), explored these harrowing but necessary questions under the guidance of Scott Kemp , associate professor at NSE and director of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy .

A well-rounded interest in science

Growing up in the small railroad town of Smithville, Texas, Sanchez fell in love with basic science in high school. He can’t point to any one subject — calculus, anatomy, physiology — they were all endlessly fascinating. But physics was particularly appealing early on because you learned about abstract models and saw them play out in the real world, Sanchez says. “Even the smallest cellular functions playing out on a larger scale in your own body is cool,” he adds, explaining his love of physiology.

Attending college at the University of Texas in Dallas was even more rewarding, as he could soak in the sciences and feed an insatiable appetite. Electricity and magnetism drew Sanchez in, as did quantum mechanics. “The reality underlying quantum is so counterintuitive to what we expect that the subject was fascinating. It was really cool to learn these very new and sort of foreign rules,” Sanchez says.

Stoking his interest in science in his undergraduate years, Sanchez learned about nuclear engineering outside of the classroom, and was especially intrigued by its potential for mitigating climate change. A professor with a specialty in nuclear chemistry fueled this interest and it was through a class in radiation chemistry that Sanchez learned more about the field.

Graduating with a major in chemistry and a minor in physics, Sanchez married his love of science with another interest, computational modeling, when he pursued an internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At Oak Ridge, Sanchez worked on irradiation studies on humans by using computational models of the human body.

Work on nuclear weapons security at NSE

After Oak Ridge, Sanchez was pretty convinced he wanted to work on computational research in the nuclear field in some way. He appreciates that computational models, when done well, can yield accurate forecasts of the future. One can use models to predict failures in nuclear reactors, for example, and prevent them from happening.

After test-driving a couple of research options at NSE, Sanchez worked in the field of nuclear weapons security.

Experts in the field have long believed that the weapons or types of delivery systems like missiles and aircraft will affect the likelihood that states will feel compelled to start a nuclear war. The canonical example is a multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) system, which deploys multiple warheads on the same missile. If one missile can take out one warhead, it can destroy five or 10 warheads with just one MRV system. Such a weapons capability, Sanchez points out, is very destabilizing because there’s a strong incentive to attack first.

Similarly, experts in nuclear arms control have been suggesting that hypersonic weapons are destabilizing, but most of the reasons have been speculative, Sanchez says. “We’re putting these claims to technical scrutiny to see if they hold up.”

One way to test these claims is by focusing on flight paths. Hypersonic missiles have been considered destabilizing because it’s impossible to determine their trajectories. Hypersonic missiles can turn as they fly, so they have destination ambiguity. Unlike ballistic missiles, which have a fixed trajectory, it’s not always apparent where hypersonic missiles are going. When the final target of a missile is unclear it is easy to assume the worst: “They could be mistaken for attacks against nuclear weapons or nuclear command-and-control structures or against national capitals,” Sanchez says, “it could look much more serious than it is, so it could prompt the nation that’s being attacked to respond in a way that will escalate the situation.”

Sanchez’s doctoral work included modeling the flights of hypersonic weapons to quantify the ambiguities that could lead to escalation. The key was to evaluate the area of ambiguity for missiles with given sets of properties. Part of the work also involved making recommendations that prevent hypersonic weapons from being used in destabilizing ways. A couple of these suggestions included arming hypersonic missiles with conventional (rather than nuclear) warheads and to create no-fly zones around world capitals.

Helping underserved students

Sanchez’s work at NSE was not limited to his doctoral studies alone. Along with NSE postdoc Rachel Bielajew PhD ’24, he started the Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP), which helps mitigate some of the disadvantages that underrepresented students are likely to encounter.

The son of a Latino father and middle-class parents who were themselves the first in their families to graduate from college, Sanchez considers himself fortunate. But he admits that unlike many of his peers, he found graduate school difficult to navigate. “That gave me an appreciation for the position that a lot of people coming from different backgrounds where there’s less higher education in the family might face,” Sanchez says.

GAAP’s purpose is to lessen some of these barriers and to connect potential applicants to current NSE graduate students so they can ask questions whose answers might paint a clearer picture of the landscape. Sanchez stepped down after two years of co-chairing the initiative but he continues as mentor. Questions he fields range from finding a research/lab fit to funding opportunities.

As for opportunities Sanchez himself will follow: a postdoctoral fellowship in the Security Studies Program in the Department of Political Science at MIT.

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2024 Graduate Awards announced

The Graduate Awards Ceremony recognizes exceptional graduate students, faculty, and staff for their outstanding contributions. This year five graduate students, two alumni, and two faculty members from the School of Engineering received awards.

Two SOE alumni, Andrew Bodkin , EG89, and Barghavi Govindarajan , EG08, were each honored with SOE Outstanding Career Achievement Awards.

PhD candidates including Obafemi “Femi” Jinadu and Foram Sanghavi of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mikhail Petrov of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Marvin Xavierselvan of the Department of Biomedical Engineering were each recognized with the SOE award for Outstanding Academic Scholarship.

Professor Usman Khan of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Professor Jeffrey Guasto of the Department of Mechanical Engineering were honored with the SOE Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award.

PhD candidate Demetrios Stoukides  won the SOE award for Outstanding Graduate Contributor to Engineering Education. He is pursuing a PhD in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, researching stem cell and tissue engineering.   

Congratulations to all the winners!

Department:

College of Engineering | May 20, 2024

Celebrating excellence in engineering: spring 2024 graduate hooding and the order of the engineer ceremonies.

On May 11, 2023, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) College of Engineering hosted its traditional Graduate Hooding and The Order of the Engineer ceremonies at Magoffin Auditorium. These memorable ceremonies including more than 300 newly inducted engineers as well as 100 master’s and Ph.D. candidates, marked the celebration of a major achievement in the students’ academic path.

Upholding Ethical Practices: The Order of the Engineer Ceremony

The day began with The Order of the Engineer ceremony, an event that recognizes the students' commitment to uphold ethical standards and contribute to society through their engineering skills. Louis Everett, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, and Academic Affairs of the College of Engineering, warmly welcomed the graduating class and highlighted the importance of the ceremony in recognizing their accomplishments and the education they have received.

"In choosing engineering or computer science as your field of study, you've taken on a significant challenge," Dr. Everett shared. "These disciplines require rigorous training and a deep understanding of complex concepts. This ceremony serves as a reminder of the responsibility and commitment that comes with being an engineer."

The ceremony continued with an inspiring keynote address by Montserrat Najera, a graduating senior in Civil Engineering. Najera shared her personal experiences and encouraged students to continue pushing boundaries and making a positive impact on society through hard work, determination, and perseverance.

Before College of Engineering faculty members, friends, and family, students recited the Obligation of an Engineer and solemnly pledged to contribute to the betterment of society. After taking this pledge students received a stainless-steel ring representing their dedication to ethical engineering values and their determination to make a difference in the world.

Graduate Hooding Ceremony: A Celebration of Accomplishments

Following The Order of the Engineer ceremony, over 100 engineering and computer science students receiving their Master of Science or Ph.D. degrees during this spring were hooded by their respective faculty advisors.

Martine Ceberio, Ph.D., Associate Dean for People, Culture and Environment for the College of Engineering, shared her joy for the graduates' achievements and stressed the importance of ethical implications in the field of engineering. She urged the students to embrace the values of integrity, responsibility, and sustainability to address complex challenges in their careers. "Never lose sight of curiosity," Dr. Ceberio advised the graduates. “The field of engineering is not without its complexities, and you must confront them head-on! From ethical dilemmas brought on by emerging technologies to the imperatives of rising global issues, the world ahead may be daunting. However, it is through confronting these challenges that you will truly test yourself and your values and make a lasting impact.”

Record-breaking Achievements and Diversity

The graduating class of Spring 2024 achieved several important milestones, including the first 6 students graduating with a degree in Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering and the first student graduating with a degree in Computer Engineering. Additionally, over 100 undergraduate students graduated with honors, a whooping 37.4% of the class! The College also saw record numbers of graduates from programs such as Civil Engineering, Construction Management, and Engineering Innovation and Leadership.

In terms of demographics, 5 female students graduated with a Ph.D. degree or Engineering Interdisciplinary degree, making up 42% of the semester's graduating class. Furthermore, 84% of undergraduate students graduating this semester are Hispanic, setting a new record for spring semesters.

Eric Macdonald, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Engineering, commended the graduates for their achievements and diverse backgrounds. He added: “You are now part of a select group, and you have a great responsibility to your profession and society, you belong to the generation of engineers and computer scientists that will maintain the technical vitality of our nation and ultimately, the well-being of our planet.”

Congratulations and Future Endeavors

The Graduate Hooding and The Order of the Engineer ceremonies at UTEP represent the college's commitment to excellence in education and the preparation of well-rounded engineering professionals. These graduates are now ready to embark on promising careers or pursue further academic endeavors, poised to make significant contributions to their respective fields and society at large.

The College of Engineering congratulates the graduates on their achievements and wishes them success in their future endeavors. For more highlights from the 2024 ceremonies, visit our online galleries.

https://www.utep.edu/engineering/orderoftheengineer/gallery/2024spring.html and https://www.utep.edu/engineering/graduateceremony/gallery/2024spring.html .

[Engineering News Archive]

Looking for a "Welcome Wednesday" email?

Email archive.

Below are archived communications that have been distributed to UVA Engineering new graduate students regarding the upcoming fall semester.

Message 1- 5/29/24 (Welcome to UVA!)

We are excited that you have chosen to join us in finding solutions to critical global challenges. Welcome to our community of scholars! You will quickly discover the joys of living in the Charlottesville area. We have a vibrant and dynamic community with many opportunities for engagement. For useful information about living in the Charlottesville area, feel free to explore the UVA Graduate Guide . To help you navigate your start at UVA, we will send weekly ‘ Welcome Wednesdays !’ emails over the summer with information pertaining to life at UVA, the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), and beyond. This will include information about the logistics of studying at the university, coursework, health and wellness resources, etc.

All further communication, including the weekly emails, will be sent to your UVA email address, so please make sure you follow the instructions provided below to set up your email.  

Instructions for Obtaining your Password, Identity Verification, Email Account, and Wireless The University of Virginia’s Information Technology Services (ITS) Department has a website with extensive information and instructions to obtain your account information. You received an email after you accepted your admission offer, which contained your UVA computing ID and instructions to set up your email account from [email protected] with the subject line "UVA Student Information System (SIS) Access." Please follow all the steps to receive complete information about your upcoming attendance. If you need additional assistance, call Information Technology Services (ITS) at 434-924‑3731.  We rely on E‑MAIL for all communication within the Engineering School  so be sure to complete this process early. You do not need to be in Charlottesville to activate your email account.  Information concerning your University computing ID can be found online , or you can call the ITS Help Desk at 434-924-4357. NetBadge questions can be emailed to [email protected] .  

A few reminders (More information on these items will be sent in subsequent emails):

New Graduate Student Course enrollment begins July 1, 2024 , but you should consult departmental handbooks for course requirements before enrolling.

The UVA Engineering new graduate student orientation will be held on August 22, 2024  for all on Grounds students. Please save the date as it will be an opportunity to learn more about SEAS and how to get started for success in your graduate program. Please look for additional communication from your department for department specific onboarding and orientation. We look forward to having you at UVA in the fall!

The Benefits of Data Sharing — Ramesh Raskar on PBS/NOVA Documentary: Secrets in Your Data

PBS  |  NOVA

June 3, 2024

• #artificial intelligence
• Ramesh Raskar Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
• Media Lab Research Theme: Life with AI

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Whether you’re on social media or surfing the web, you’re probably sharing more personal data than you realize. .

The NOVA documentary, Secrets in your Data , hosted by Alok Patel, explores how our personal data is collected and used online. It highlights the risks and benefits of data sharing, traces its history, and showcases tools to protect our privacy. Patel guides viewers through data tracking complexities and offers tips for safeguarding personal information.

In the segment Benefits of Sharing Data , Patel visits the MIT Media Lab, where Ramesh Raskar and his team at the Camera Culture research group are developing innovative tools that protect patient privacy. They use "no-peek privacy" and "data smashing" to extract insights without exposing sensitive data.

Raskar's approach leverages AI to analyze health data within hospitals, transmitting only the valuable conclusions. For example, AI can identify COVID-19 signs from lung X-rays without sharing raw data. This method could significantly advance medical research if widely adopted by tech companies.

Secrets In Your Data: Screening and panel discussion

Join NOVA at GBH for a screening of selected clips from Secrets in Your Data paired with a panel discussion featuring experts from the film.

UNC Chapel Hill - Doctoral Hooding Ceremony Keynote Address

On May 11, 2019 Ramesh Raskar was the doctoral hooding ceremony keynote speaker at UNC Chapel Hill Commencement. He shared the vi…

Ramesh Raskar receives 2020 Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising

This award is given out annually by the MIT Graduate Student Council and presented at the Awards Convocation ceremony.

AI and Web3 for Impact: Venture Studio | Demo Day 2023

On May 11, 2022, the MIT Media Lab hosted a biannual event known as Demo Day, where 14 teams of students presented their course projects.

When the PhD path leads to career struggles

A doctoral degree is a major commitment. Think carefully.

I appreciated reading Kara Miller’s The Big Idea column “PhD: Pretty heavily disappointed” (Business, May 22), about people with doctoral degrees struggling to build careers in academia. It made me think back to a conversation I had when I was about to graduate from high school.

I happened to run into a former track coach of mine, and as we were reminiscing he asked me what I planned as a major in college. “History,” I responded. He said, “Why don’t you take some computer classes also? It never hurts to be able to do something useful.”

I did not reflect on his motivation at the time, but my track coach was a young guy, and he was probably giving me advice straight from his own life, as a parent trying to raise his own young children. I did take computer classes in college and ultimately received a PhD in chemical engineering. I always remember that conversation as being a kind of turning point.

Earning a doctoral degree is a life commitment of great proportion. It can take, as Miller notes, between four and seven years. If we think of working life as roughly between the ages of 22 and 65, then a PhD requires more than 10 percent of a person’s working life. People need to think carefully about that investment.

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Two powerful arguments in favor of the path of science, technology, engineering, and math are that there tend to be more STEM jobs for PhDs, and many universities’ STEM departments are generous in covering their PhD students’ tuition and cost of studies, including a stipend toward food, rent, and other expenses.

Stuart Gallant

Not much has changed in 30 years

As I prepared to graduate in 1995 with a doctor of education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, my mother memorably said to me, “Of my four children, you are the one with the most education and the smallest salary.” Apparently not much has changed in 30 years.

I must congratulate these students, however, on following their passion rather than following the money. I can’t help but think that their lives, though stressful, may contain greater happiness.

Peggy Clark

Lawyers & electricians & philosophers, oh my!

Kara Miller’s column on the career challenges for people with doctoral degrees generated more than 260 comments on Boston.Globe.com. The following is an edited sample of readers’ reactions:

Lots of law school grads are underemployed as well. (PL)

So true, PL. The market in Massachusetts is flooded with talented lawyers seeking work. (Roforma)

Supply and demand, the market at work. (guk)

Investing in education and research in all fields is the hallmark of a society with staying power. Disinvesting from these endeavors signals decline and decay. (Massachusetts citizen)

Electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and other skilled technical professions have no problems getting $100k jobs with great benefits. (ramsen)

Not enough turnover from tenured professors, leaving little space for new faculty. Although the tenured, well-established professors are needed, it’s the junior faculty who are hungry and with new ideas that help build new programs. The whole graduate program model is a bad model. I worked two jobs, had my tuition and some type of minimal student health insurance and could barely cover the rent with my stipend, and the second job paid for everything else. Though I was working on many faculty projects, it was the faculty who said this would be good for me. Never did they say it was also good for them. (TravelerofNJ2)

I just retired from a tenured faculty position in science. I’m in my early 70s. I have colleagues who are still doing what they do well into their 70s, a couple approaching 80. There is no active incentive from the university to move the older faculty on, to make way for a new generation. (Lola-lola)

The next step is for adjuncts to go on strike across the nation and hold colleges and universities accountable. The current system is completely absurd. (Wordsmith2358)

Universities should be required to release disclosure data about the fate of their PhD graduates. (davidman820)

I knew an attorney who managed a Cheesecake Factory. She had worked in food services through school. As an attorney, she really did not make that much money and was not doing the field of law of her choice. How many real estate closings can you do without dying of boredom? She went into management in the food industry and makes the same salary. (Antietem)

It was always a question and puzzling to me why people study philosophy. (Blazer27)

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• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (MEng)
• Leaders for Global Operations (MBA/​SM and SM)
• Music Technology and Computation (SM and MASc)
• Real Estate Development (SM)
• Statistics (PhD)
• Supply Chain Management (MEng and MASc)
• Technology and Policy (SM)
• Transportation (SM)
• Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16)
• Aerospace Studies (AS)
• Civil and Environmental Engineering (Course 1)
• Comparative Media Studies /​ Writing (CMS)
• Comparative Media Studies /​ Writing (Course 21W)
• Computational and Systems Biology (CSB)
• Computational Science and Engineering (CSE)
• Concourse (CC)
• Data, Systems, and Society (IDS)
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (Course 12)
• Economics (Course 14)
• Edgerton Center (EC)
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6)
• Engineering Management (EM)
• Experimental Study Group (ES)
• Global Languages (Course 21G)
• Health Sciences and Technology (HST)
• Linguistics and Philosophy (Course 24)
• Management (Course 15)
• Media Arts and Sciences (MAS)
• Military Science (MS)
• Music and Theater Arts (Course 21M)
• Naval Science (NS)
• Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
• Special Programs
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Urban Studies and Planning (Course 11)
• Women's and Gender Studies (WGS)

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

In the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro), we look ahead by looking up.

At its core, aerospace empowers connection — interpersonal, international, interdisciplinary, and interplanetary. We seek to foster an inclusive community that values technical excellence, and we research and engineer innovative aerospace systems and technologies that have world-changing impact. We educate the next generation of leaders, creative engineers, and entrepreneurs who will push the boundaries of the possible to shape the future of aerospace. We do these things while holding ourselves to the highest standards of integrity and ethical practice. Working together with our partners in public and private sectors, we aim to expand the benefits of aerospace to create a more sustainable environment, strengthen global security, contribute to a prosperous economy, and explore other worlds for the betterment of humankind.

Our vision: to create an aerospace field that is a diverse and inclusive community, pushing the boundaries of the possible to ensure lasting positive impact on our society, economy, and environment.

MIT AeroAstro is a vibrant community of uniquely talented and passionate faculty, students, researchers, administrators, staff, and alumni. As the oldest program of its kind in the United States, we have a rich tradition of technical excellence, academic rigor, and research scholarship that has led to significant contributions to the field of aerospace for more than a century. Today, we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible to shape the future of air and space transportation, exploration, communications, autonomous systems, education, and national security.

Our department’s core research capabilities include the following:

• autonomous systems and decision-making: autonomy, guidance, navigation, estimation, control, communications, and networks
• computational science and engineering: computational mathematics and numerical analysis, high-performance computing, model reduction and multifidelity modeling, uncertainty quantification, and optimization approaches to engineering design
• earth and space sciences: environmental impact of aviation, environmental monitoring, sciences of space and atmosphere, space exploration, earth observation, energy, plasma physics, aircraft/atmospheric interaction, and astrodynamics
• human-system collaboration: human-machine systems; interactive robotics for aerospace, medical, and manufacturing; human factors; supervisory control and automation; biomechanics; life support; and astronaut performance
• systems design and engineering: system architecture, safety, optimization, lifecycle costing, in-space manufacturing, and logistics
• transportation and exploration: aviation, space flight, aircraft operations, instrumentation, flight information systems, infrastructure, air traffic control, industry analysis, and space missions
• vehicle design and engineering: fluids, materials, structures, propulsion, energy, durability, turbomachinery, aerodynamics, astrodynamics, thermodynamics, composites, and avionics

In the latest version of the department’s strategic plan, we identified seven additional areas of focus, or strategic thrusts, to pursue in tandem with our core capabilities. Strategic thrusts are forward-thinking, high-level initiatives that take into account both the current and future states of the aerospace field.

Our three research thrusts include: integrate autonomy and humans in real-world systems; develop new theory and applications for satellite constellations and swarms; and aerospace environmental mitigation and monitoring. These areas focus on long-term trends rather than specific systems and build upon our strengths while anticipating future changes as the aerospace field continues to evolve. Our two educational goals include: lead development of the College of Computing education programs in autonomy and computational science and engineering; and develop education for digital natives and digital immigrants. Both goals leverage the evolving MIT campus landscape as well as the increasing role of computing across society.

Our culture and leadership goals include: become the leading department at MIT in mentoring, advising, diversity, and inclusion; and make innovation a key component in MIT AeroAstro leadership. These areas respond to the priorities of our students and alumni while addressing pervasive challenges in the aerospace field.

The AeroAstro undergraduate engineering education model motivates students to master a deep working knowledge of the technical fundamentals while providing the skills, knowledge, and attitude necessary to lead in the creation and operation of products, processes, and systems.

The AeroAstro graduate program offers opportunities for deep and fulfilling research and collaboration in our three department teaching sectors (full descriptions below) and across MIT. Our students work side-by-side with some of the brightest and most motivated colleagues in academia and industry.

Our world-renowned faculty roster includes a former space shuttle astronaut, secretary of the Air Force, NASA deputy administrator, Air Force chief scientist, and NASA chief technologist, and numerous National Academy of Engineering members and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics fellows.

Upon leaving MIT, our students go on to become engineering leaders in the corporate world, in government service, and in education. Our alums are entrepreneurs who start their own businesses; they are policy-makers shaping the direction of research and development for years to come; they are educators who bring their passion for learning to new generations; they are researchers doing transformative work at the intersection of engineering, technology and science.

Whether you are passionate about flying machines, pushing the boundaries of human civilization in space, or high-integrity, complex systems that operate in remote, unstructured, and dynamic environments, you belong here .

Sectors of Instruction

The department's faculty are organized into three sectors of instruction. Typically, a faculty member teaches both undergraduate and graduate subjects in one or more of the sectors.

The Air Sector is concerned with advancing a world that is mobile, sustainable, and secure. Achieving these objectives is a multidisciplinary challenge spanning the engineering sciences and systems engineering, as well as fields such as economics and environmental sciences.

Air vehicles and associated systems provide for the safe mobility of people, goods, and services covering urban to global distances. While this mobility allows for greater economic opportunity and connects people and cultures, it is also the most energy-intensive and fastest growing form of transportation. For this reason, much of the research and teaching in the Air Sector is motivated by the need to reduce energy use, emissions, and noise. Examples of research topics include improving aircraft operations, lightweight aerostructures, efficient engines, advanced aerodynamics, and quiet urban air vehicles. Air vehicles and associated systems also provide for critical national security and environmental observation capabilities. As such research and teaching in the sector are also concerned with topics including designing air vehicles for specialized missions, high-speed aerodynamics, advanced materials, and environmental monitoring platforms.

Teaching in the Air Sector includes subjects on aerodynamics, materials and structures, thermodynamics, air-breathing propulsion, plasmas, energy and the environment, aircraft systems engineering, and air transportation systems.

Space Sector

The design, development, and operation of space systems require a depth of expertise in a number of disciplines and the ability to integrate and optimize across all of these stages. The Space Sector faculty represent, in both research and teaching, a broad range of disciplines united under the common goal to develop space technologies and systems for applications ranging from communications and earth observation, to human and robotic exploration. The research footprint of the sector spans the fundamental science and the rigorous engineering required to successfully create and deploy complex space systems. There is also substantive research engagement with industry and government, both in the sponsorship of projects and through collaboration.

The research expertise of the Space Sector faculty includes human and robotic space exploration, space propulsion, orbital communications, distributed satellite systems, enterprise architecture, systems engineering, the integrated design of space-based optical systems, reduced gravity research into human physiology, and software development methods for mission-critical systems. Numerous Space Sector faculty design, build, and fly spaceflight experiments ranging from small satellites to astronaut space missions. Beyond these topics, there is outreach and interest in leveraging our skills into applications that lie outside the traditional boundaries of aerospace.

Academically, the Space Sector organizes subjects relevant to address the learning objectives of students interested in the fundamental and applied aspects of space engineering theories, devices, and processes. This includes courses in astrodynamics, space propulsion, space systems engineering, plasma physics, and humans in space.

Computing Sector

Most aerospace systems critically depend upon, and continue to be transformed by, advances in computing. The missions of many aerospace systems are fundamentally centered on gathering, processing, and transmitting information. Aerospace systems rely on computing-intensive subsystems to provide essential on-board functions, including navigation, autonomous or semi-autonomous guidance and control, cooperative action (including formation flight), and health monitoring systems. Computing technologies are also central to communication satellites, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and satellites, planetary rovers, global positioning satellites, transportation systems, and integrated defense systems. Almost every aircraft or satellite is one system within a larger system, and information plays a central role in the interoperability of these subsystems. Equally important is the role that computing plays in the design of aerospace vehicles and systems.

Faculty members in the Computing Sector teach and conduct research on a broad range of areas, including guidance, navigation, control, autonomy and robotics, space and airborne communication networks, air and space traffic management, real-time mission-critical software and hardware, and the computational design, optimization, and simulation of fluid, material, and structural systems. In many instances, the functions provided by aerospace computing technologies are critical to life or mission success. Hence, uncertainty quantification, safety, fault-tolerance, verification, and validation of large-scale engineering systems are significant areas of inquiry.

The Computing Sector has linkages with the other sectors through a common interest in research on autonomous air and space operations, methodologies for large-scale design and simulation, and human-automation interactions in the aerospace context. Moreover, the sector has strong links to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Schwarzman College of Computing through joint teaching and collaborative research programs.

Research Laboratories and Activities

The department's faculty, staff, and students are engaged in a wide variety of research projects. Graduate students participate in all the research projects. Projects are also open to undergraduates through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) . Some projects are carried out in an unstructured environment by individual professors working with a few students. Most projects are found within the departmental laboratories and centers . Faculty also undertake research in or collaborate with colleagues in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Draper Laboratory, Laboratory for Information and Decisions Systems, Lincoln Laboratory, Operations Research Center, Research Laboratory of Electronics, and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, as well as in interdepartmental laboratories and centers listed in the introduction to the School of Engineering .

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering (Course 16)

Bachelor of science in engineering (course 16-eng), double major, undergraduate study.

Undergraduate study in the department leads to the Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering (Course 16), or the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Course 16-ENG) at the end of four years.

This program is designed to prepare the graduate for an entry-level position in aerospace and related fields and for further education at the master's level; it is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET . The program includes an opportunity for a year's study abroad.

The formal learning in the program builds a conceptual understanding in the foundational engineering sciences and professional subjects that span the topics critical to aerospace. This learning takes place within the engineering context of conceiving-designing-implementing-operating (CDIO) aerospace and related complex high-performance systems and products. The skills and attributes emphasized go beyond the formal classroom curriculum and include modeling, design, the ability for self-education, computer literacy, communication and teamwork skills, ethics, and—underlying all of these—appreciation for and understanding of interfaces and connectivity between various disciplines. Opportunities for formal and practical (hands-on) learning in these areas are integrated into the departmental subjects through examples set by the faculty, subject content, and the ability for substantive engagement in the CDIO process in the department's Learning Laboratory for Complex Systems.

The curriculum includes the General Institute Requirements (GIRs) and the departmental program, which covers a fall-spring-fall sequence of subjects called Unified Engineering, subjects in dynamics and principles of automatic control, a statistics and probability subject, a subject in computers and programming, professional area subjects, an experimental project laboratory, and a capstone design subject. The program also includes subject 18.03 Differential Equations .

Unified Engineering is offered in sets of two 12-unit subjects in two successive terms. These subjects are taught cooperatively by several faculty members. Their purpose is to introduce new students to the disciplines and methodologies of aerospace engineering at a basic level, with a balanced exposure to analysis, empirical methods, and design. The areas covered include statics, materials, and structures; thermodynamics and propulsion; fluid mechanics; and signals and systems. Several laboratory experiments are performed and a number of systems problems tying the disciplines together and exemplifying the CDIO process are included.

Unified Engineering is usually taken in the sophomore year, 16.09 Statistics and Probability in the spring of the sophomore year, and the subjects 16.07 Dynamics and 16.06 Principles of Automatic Control respectively in the first and second term of the junior year. Subjects 6.100A Introduction to Computer Science Programming in Python and 6.100B Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science can be taken at any time, starting in the first year of undergraduate study, but the fall term of the sophomore year is recommended.

The professional area subjects offer a more complete and in-depth treatment of the materials introduced in the core courses. Students must take four subjects (48 units) from among the professional area subjects, with subjects in at least three areas. Students may choose to complete an option in Aerospace Information Technology by taking at least 36 of the 48 required units from a designated group of subjects specified in the degree chart .

Professional area subjects in the four areas of Fluid Mechanics, Materials and Structures, Propulsion, and Computational Tools represent the advanced aerospace disciplines encompassing the design and construction of airframes and engines. Topics within these disciplines include fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, heat and mass transfer, computational mechanics, flight vehicle aerodynamics, solid mechanics, structural design and analysis, the study of engineering materials, structural dynamics, and propulsion and energy conversion from both fluid/thermal (gas turbines and rockets) and electrical devices.

Professional area subjects in the four areas of Estimation and Control, Computer Systems, Communications Systems, and Humans and Automation are in the broad disciplinary area of information, which plays a dominant role in modern aerospace systems. Topics within these disciplines include feedback, control, estimation, control of flight vehicles, software engineering, human systems engineering, aerospace communications and digital systems, fundamentals of robotics, the way in which humans interact with the vehicle through manual control and supervisory control of telerobotic processes (e.g., modern cockpit systems and human-centered automation), and how planning and real-time decisions are made by machines.

The capstone subjects serve to integrate the various disciplines and emphasize the CDIO context of the AeroAstro curriculum. They also satisfy the Communication Requirement as Communication-Intensive in the Major (CI-M) subjects. The vehicle and system design subjects require student teams to apply their undergraduate knowledge to the design of an aircraft or spacecraft system. One of these two subjects is required and is typically taken in the second term of the junior year or in the senior year. (The completion of at least two professional area or concentration subjects is the prerequisite for capstone subjects 16.82 and 16.83[J] .) The rest of the capstone requirement is satisfied by one of four 12–18 unit subjects or subject sequences, as outlined in the Course 16 degree chart; these sequences satisfy the Institute Laboratory Requirement. In 16.821 and 16.831[J] students build and operate the vehicles or systems developed in 16.82 and 16.83[J] . In 16.405[J] , students specify and design a small-scale yet complex robot capable of real-time interaction with the natural world.

To take full advantage of the General Institute Requirements and required electives, the department recommends the following: 3.091 Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry for the chemistry requirement; the ecology option of the biology requirement; a subject in economics (e.g., 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics ) as part of the HASS Requirement; and elective subjects such as 16.00 Introduction to Aerospace and Design , a mathematics subject (e.g., 18.06 Linear Algebra , 18.075 Methods for Scientists and Engineers , or 18.085 Computational Science and Engineering I ), and additional professional area subjects in the departmental program. Please consult the department's Academic Programs Office (Room 33-202) for other elective options.

Course 16-ENG is an engineering degree program designed to offer flexibility within the context of aerospace engineering and is a complement to our Course 16 aerospace engineering degree program. The program leads to the Bachelor of Science in Engineering . The 16-ENG degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET . Depending on their interests, Course 16-ENG students can develop a deeper level of understanding and skill in a field of engineering that is relevant to multiple disciplinary areas (e.g., robotics and control, computational engineering, mechanics, or engineering management), or a greater understanding and skill in an interdisciplinary area (e.g., energy, environment and sustainability, or transportation). This is accomplished first through a rigorous foundation within core aerospace engineering disciplines, followed by a six-subject concentration tailored to the student's interests, and completed with hands-on aerospace engineering lab and capstone design subjects.

The core of the 16-ENG degree is very similar to the core of the 16 degree. A significant part of the 16-ENG curriculum consists of electives (72 units) chosen by the student to provide in-depth study of a field of the student's choosing. A wide variety of concentrations are possible in which well-selected academic subjects complement a foundation in aerospace engineering and General Institute Requirements. Potential concentrations include aerospace software engineering, autonomous systems, communications, computation and sustainability, computational engineering, embedded systems and networks, energy, engineering management, environment, space exploration, and transportation. AeroAstro faculty have developed specific recommendations in these areas; details are available from the AeroAstro Academic Programs Office (Room 33-202) and on the departmental website. However, concentrations are not limited to those listed above. Students can design and propose technically oriented concentrations that reflect their own needs and those of society.

The student's overall program must contain a total of at least one and one-half years of engineering content (144 units) appropriate to his or her field of study. The required core, lab, and capstone subjects include 102 units of engineering topics. Thus, concentrations must include at least 42 more units of engineering topics. In addition, each concentration must include 12 units of mathematics or science.

The culmination of the 16-ENG degree program is our aerospace laboratory and capstone subject sequences. The capstone subjects serve to integrate the various disciplines and emphasize the CDIO context of our engineering curriculum. They also satisfy the Communication Requirement as CI-M subjects. The laboratory and capstone options in the 16-ENG degree are identical to those in the Course 16 degree program (see the description of this program for additional details on the laboratory and capstone sequences).

Students may pursue two majors under the Double Major Program . In particular, some students may wish to combine a professional education in aeronautics and astronautics with a liberal education that links the development and practice of science and engineering to their social, economic, historical, and cultural contexts. For them, the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society offer a double major program that combines majors in both fields.

Other Undergraduate Opportunities

To take full advantage of the unique research environment of MIT, undergraduates, including first-year students, are encouraged to become involved in the research activities of the department through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) . Many of the faculty actively seek undergraduates to become a part of their research teams. Visit research centers' websites to learn more about available research opportunities. For more information, contact Marie Stuppard in the AeroAstro Academic Programs Office, Room 33-202, 617-253-2279.

Advanced Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

Juniors and seniors in Course 16 may participate in an advanced undergraduate research program, SuperUROP , which was launched as a collaborative effort between the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) . For more information, contact Joyce Light , AeroAstro Headquarters, (617) 253-8408, or visit the website.

Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program

The Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP) is a program sponsored by the School of Engineering and administered through the Office of the Dean of Engineering. Open to all School of Engineering sophomores, this program provides students an opportunity to develop engineering and business skills while working in industry, nonprofit organizations, or government agencies. UPOP consists of three parts: an intensive one-week engineering practice workshop offered during IAP, 10–12 weeks of summer employment, and a written report and oral presentation in the fall. Students are paid during their periods of residence at the participating companies and also receive academic credit in the program. There are no obligations on either side regarding further employment.

Summer Internship Program

The Summer Internship Program provides undergraduates in the department the opportunity to apply the skills they are learning in the classroom in paid professional positions with employers throughout the United States. During recruitment periods, representatives from firms in the aerospace industry will visit the department and offer information sessions and technical talks specifically geared to Course 16 students. Often, student résumés are collected and interviews conducted for summer internships as well as long-term employment. Employers wishing to offer an information session or seeking candidates for openings in their company may contact Marie Stuppard , 617-253-2279.

Students are also encouraged to take advantage of other career resources available through the MIT Career Advising and Professional Development Office (CAPD) or through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). AeroAstro students can also apply through MISTI to participate in the Imperial College London-MIT Summer Research Exchange Program. CAPD coordinates several annual career fairs and offers a number of workshops, including workshops on how to navigate a career fair as well as critique on résumé writing and cover letters.

Year Abroad Program

Through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) students can apply to study abroad in the junior year. In particular, the department participates in an academic exchange with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and with Imperial College, United Kingdom. In any year-abroad experience, students enroll in the academic cycle of the host institution and take courses in the local language. They plan their course of study in advance; this includes securing credit commitments in exchange for satisfactory performance abroad. A grade average of B or better is normally required of participating AeroAstro students.

For more information, contact Marie Stuppard . Also refer to Undergraduate Education for more details on the exchange programs.

Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium

MIT leads the NASA-supported Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium (MASGC) in partnership with Boston University, Bridgewater State University, Harvard University, Framingham State University, Northeastern University, Mount Holyoke College, Olin College of Engineering, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts (Amherst, Dartmouth, and Lowell), Wellesley College, Williams College, Worcester State University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Boston Museum of Science, the Christa McAuliffe Center, the Maria Mitchell Observatory, and the Five College Astronomy Department. The program has the principal objective of stimulating and supporting student interest, especially that of women and underrepresented minorities, in space engineering and science at all educational levels, primary through graduate. The program offers a number of activities to this end, including support of undergraduate and graduate students to carry out research projects at their home institutions, support for student travel to present conference papers, and summer workshops for pre-college teachers. The program coordinates and supports the placement of students in summer positions at NASA centers for summer academies and research opportunities. MASGC also participates in a number of public outreach and education policy initiatives in Massachusetts to increase public awareness and inform legislators about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math education in the state.

For more information, contact Helen Halaris, Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium program coordinator, 617-258-5546.

For additional information concerning academic and undergraduate research programs in the department, suggested four-year undergraduate programs, and interdisciplinary programs, contact Marie Stuppard , 617-253-2279.

Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science

Graduate Study

Graduate study in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics includes graduate-level subjects in Course 16 and others at MIT, and research work culminating in a thesis. Degrees are awarded at the master's and doctoral levels. The range of subject matter is described under Sectors of Instruction . Departmental research centers' websites offer information on research interests. Detailed information may be obtained from the Department Academic Programs Office or from individual faculty members.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, applicants to the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics should have a strong undergraduate background in the fundamentals of engineering and mathematics as described in the Undergraduate Study section.

International students whose language of instruction has not been English in their primary and secondary schooling must pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 100 out of 120, or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 7 out of 9 to be considered for admission to this department. TOEFL waivers are not accepted. No other exams fulfill this requirement.

New graduate students are normally admitted as candidates for the degree of Master of Science. Admission to the doctoral program is offered through a two-step process to students who have been accepted for graduate study: 1) passing performance on a course-based field evaluation (FE); 2) a faculty review consisting of an examination of the student's achievements, including an assessment of the quality of past research work and evaluation of the student's academic record in light of the performance on the FE.

The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics requires that all entering graduate students demonstrate satisfactory English writing ability by taking the Graduate Writing Examination offered by the Comparative Media Studies/Writing Program. The examination is usually administered in July, and all entering candidates must take the examination electronically at that time. Students with deficient skills must complete remedial training specifically designed to fulfill their individual needs. The remedial training prescribed by the CMS/Writing Program must be completed by the end of the first Independent Activities Period following initial registration in the graduate program or, in some cases, in the spring term of the first year of the program.

All incoming graduate students whose native language is not English are required to take the Department of Humanities English Evaluation Test (EET) offered at the start of each regular term. This test is a proficiency examination designed to indicate areas where deficiencies may still exist and recommend specific language subjects available at MIT.

Degree Requirements

All entering students are provided with additional information concerning degree requirements, including lists of recommended subjects, thesis advising, research and teaching assistantships, and course and thesis registration.

Degrees Offered

The Master of Science (SM) degree is a one- to two-year graduate program with a beginning research or design experience represented by the SM thesis. This degree prepares the graduate for an advanced position in the aerospace field, and provides a solid foundation for future doctoral study.

The general requirements for the Master of Science degree are cited in the section on General Degree Requirements for graduate students. The specific departmental requirements include at least 66 graduate subject units, typically in subjects relevant to the candidate's area of technical interest. Of the 66 units, at least 21 units must be in departmental subjects. To be credited toward the degree, graduate subjects must carry a grade of B or better. In addition, a 24-unit thesis is required beyond the 66 units of coursework. Full-time students normally must be in residence one full academic year. Special students admitted to the SM program in this department must enroll in and satisfactorily complete at least two graduate subjects while in residence (i.e., after being admitted as a degree candidate) regardless of the number of subjects completed before admission to the program. Students holding research assistantships typically require a longer period of residence.

In addition, the department's SM program requires one graduate-level mathematics subject. The requirement is satisfied only by graduate-level subjects on the list approved by the department graduate committee. The specific choice of math subjects is arranged individually by each student in consultation with their faculty advisor.

Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics Fields

AeroAstro offers the doctor of philosophy and doctor of science (PhD and ScD) degrees in aeronautics and astronautics and in other fields of specialization . The doctoral program emphasizes in-depth study, with a significant research project in a focused area. The admission process for the department's doctoral program is described previously in this section under Admission Requirements. The PhD or ScD degree is awarded after completion of an individual course of study, submission and defense of a thesis proposal, and submission and defense of a thesis embodying an original research contribution.

All doctoral students must fulfill MIT's General Degree Requirements . The general program requirements for the PhD and ScD degrees in aeronautics and astronautics are outlined in this degree chart. Additional information is available on the department website. After successful admission to the doctoral program, the doctoral candidate selects a field of study and research in consultation with the thesis supervisor and forms a doctoral thesis committee, which assists in the formulation of the candidate's research and study programs and monitors their progress. Demonstrated competence for original research at the forefront of aerospace engineering is the final and main criterion for granting the doctoral degree. The candidate's thesis serves in part to demonstrate such competence and, upon completion, is defended orally in a presentation to the faculty of the department, who may then recommend that the degree be awarded.

Interdisciplinary Programs

The department participates in several interdisciplinary fields at the graduate level, which are of special importance for aeronautics and astronautics in both research and the curriculum.

Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Statistics

The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Statistics provides training in statistics, including classical statistics and probability as well as computation and data analysis, to students who wish to integrate these valuable skills into their primary academic program. The program is administered jointly by the departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Economics, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Political Science, and the Statistics and Data Science Center within the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. It is open to current doctoral students in participating departments. For more information, including department-specific requirements, see the full program description under Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs.

Air Transportation

For students interested in a career in flight transportation, a program is available that incorporates a broader graduate education in disciplines such as economics, management, and operations research than is normally pursued by candidates for degrees in engineering. Graduate research emphasizes one of the four areas of flight transportation: airport planning and design, air traffic control, air transportation systems analysis, and airline economics and management, with subjects selected appropriately from those available in the departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Economics, and the interdepartmental Master of Science in Transportation (MST) program. Doctoral students may pursue a PhD with specialization in air transportation in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics or in the interdepartmental PhD program in transportation or in the PhD program of the Operations Research Center (see the section on Graduate Programs in Operations Research under Research and Study).

The department offers opportunities for students interested in biomedical instrumentation and physiological control systems where the disciplines involved in aeronautics and astronautics are applied to biology and medicine. Graduate study combining aerospace engineering with biomedical engineering may be pursued through the Bioastronautics program offered as part of the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics PhD program in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) via the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST).

Students wishing to pursue a degree through HST must apply to that graduate program. At the master's degree level, students in the department may specialize in biomedical engineering research, emphasizing space life sciences and life support, instrumentation and control, or in human factors engineering and in instrumentation and statistics. Most biomedical engineering research in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is conducted in the Man Vehicle Laboratory.

The  Master of Science in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE SM)  is an interdisciplinary program for students interested in the development, analysis, and application of computational approaches to science and engineering. The curriculum is designed with a common core serving all science and engineering disciplines and an elective component focusing on specific disciplinary topics. Students may pursue the CSE SM as a standalone degree or as leading to the CSE PhD program described below.

The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE PhD) allows students to specialize at the doctoral level in a computation-related field of their choice through focused coursework and a thesis through one of the participating host departments in the School of Engineering or School of Science. The program is administered jointly by the Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE) and the host departments; the emphasis of thesis research activities is the development of new computational methods and/or the innovative application of computational techniques to important problems in engineering and science.

For more information, see the program descriptions under Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs.

Joint Program with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Joint Program with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)  is intended for students whose primary career objective is oceanography or oceanographic engineering. Students divide their academic and research efforts between the campuses of MIT and WHOI. Joint Program students are assigned an MIT faculty member as academic advisor; thesis research may be supervised by MIT or WHOI faculty. While in residence at MIT, students follow a program similar to that of other students in their home department. The program is described in more detail under Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs.

The 24-month Leaders for Global Operations (LGO)  program  combines graduate degrees in engineering and management for those with previous postgraduate work experience and strong undergraduate degrees in a technical field . During the two-year program, students complete a six-month internship  at one of LGO's partner companies, where  they conduct  research that  forms the basis of a dual-degree thesis. Students finish the program with two MIT degrees: an MBA (or SM in management) and an SM from one of seven engineering programs, some of which have optional or required LGO tracks.  After graduation, alumni  lead strategic initiatives in high-tech, operations, and manufacturing companies.

System Design and Management

The System Design and Management (SDM)  program is a partnership among industry, government, and the university for educating technically grounded leaders of 21st-century enterprises. Jointly sponsored by the School of Engineering and the Sloan School of Management, it is MIT's first degree program to be offered with a distance learning option in addition to a full-time in-residence option.

The Master of Science in Technology and Policy is an engineering research degree with a strong focus on the role of technology in policy analysis and formulation. The Technology and Policy Program (TPP) curriculum provides a solid grounding in technology and policy by combining advanced subjects in the student's chosen technical field with courses in economics, politics, quantitative methods, and social science. Many students combine TPP's curriculum with complementary subjects to obtain dual degrees in TPP and either a specialized branch of engineering or an applied social science such as political science or urban studies and planning. See the program description under the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.

Financial Support

Financial assistance for graduate study may be in the form of fellowships or research or teaching assistantships. Both fellowship students and research assistants work with a faculty supervisor on a specific research assignment of interest, which generally leads to a thesis. Teaching assistants are appointed to work on specific subjects of instruction.

A special relationship exists between the department and the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. This relationship affords fellowship opportunities for SM and PhD candidates who perform their research as an integral part of ongoing projects at Draper. Faculty from the department maintain close working relationships with researchers at Draper, and thesis research at Draper performed by Draper fellows can be structured to fulfill MIT residency requirements. Further information on Draper can be found in the section on Research and Study.

For additional information concerning admissions, financial aid and assistantship, and academic, research, and interdisciplinary programs in the department, contact the AeroAstro Student Services Office, Room 33-202, 617-253-0043.

Faculty and Teaching Staff

Steven Barrett, PhD

H. N. Slater Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Hamsa Balakrishnan, PhD

William E. Leonhard (1940) Professor

Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Member, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society

Kerri Cahoy, PhD

Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Edward F. Crawley, ScD

Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering

David L. Darmofal, PhD

Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor

Olivier L. de Weck, PhD

Mark Drela, PhD

Terry J. Kohler Professor

Edward M. Greitzer, PhD

Steven Hall, ScD

R. John Hansman Jr, PhD

T. Wilson (1953) Professor in Aeronautics

Wesley L. Harris, PhD

Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Daniel E. Hastings, PhD

Cecil and Ida Green Professor in Education

Interim Institute Community and Equity Officer

Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Advancement

Jonathan P. How, PhD

Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Sertac Karaman, PhD

Nancy G. Leveson, PhD

Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Paulo C. Lozano, PhD

M. Alemán-Velasco Professor

Youssef M. Marzouk, PhD

David W. Miller, ScD

David A. Mindell, PhD

Frances and David Dibner Professor in the History of Engineering and Manufacturing

Eytan H. Modiano, PhD

Dava Newman, PhD

Apollo Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems

Affiliate Faculty, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science

Member, Health Sciences and Technology Faculty

Jaime Peraire, PhD

Raúl Radovitzky, PhD

Nicholas Roy, PhD

Sara Seager, PhD

Class of 1941 Professor of Planetary Sciences

Professor of Physics

(On leave, spring)

Julie A. Shah, PhD

Zoltan S. Spakovszky, PhD

T. A Wilson Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Russell L. Tedrake, PhD

Toyota Professor

Professor of Computer Science and Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Ian A. Waitz, PhD

Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education

Brian L. Wardle, PhD

Brian C. Williams, PhD

Moe Z. Win, PhD

Associate Professors

Luca Carlone, PhD

Boeing Professor

Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Richard Linares, PhD

Rockwell International Career Development Professor

Qiqi Wang, PhD

Assistant Professors

Zachary Cordero, PhD

Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Professor

Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Chuchu Fan, PhD

Leonardo Professor

Carmen Guerra García, PhD

Charles Stark Draper Professor

Adrián Lozano-Durán, PhD

Lonnie Petersen, MD, PhD

Core Faculty, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science

Professors of the Practice

Jeffrey A. Hoffman, PhD

Professor of the Practice of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Robert Liebeck, PhD

Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering

Visiting Professors

Moriba Jah, PhD

Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Sonya T. Smith, PhD

Senior Lecturers

Charles Oman, PhD

Senior Lecturer in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Rudrapatna V. Ramnath, PhD

Jayant Sabnis, PhD

Javier deLuis, PhD

Lecturer of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Brian Nield, PhD

Technical Instructors

Todd Billings

Senior Technical Instructor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

David Robertson, BEng

Research Staff

Senior research engineers.

Choon S. Tan, PhD

Senior Research Engineer of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Principal Research Scientists

Rebecca A. Masterson, PhD

Principal Research Scientist of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Ngoc Cuong Nguyen, PhD

Raymond L. Speth, PhD

Research Engineers

Steven R. Allmaras, PhD

Research Engineer of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Matthew Boyd, PhD

Marshall C. Galbraith, PhD

David Gonzalez Cuadrado, PhD

John Thomas, PhD

Research Scientists

Luiz Henrique Acauan, PhD

Research Scientist of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Florian Allroggen, PhD

Andrew Menching Liu, PhD

Leonid Pogorelyuk, PhD

Paul Serra, PhD

Afreen Siddiqi, PhD

Peng Mun Siew, PhD

Rajat Rajendrad Talak, PhD

Parker Vascik, PhD

Ferran Vidal-Codina, PhD

Research Specialists

Matthew Pearlson, MS

Research Specialist of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Professors Emeriti

John J. Deyst Jr, ScD

Professor Emeritus of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Steven Dubowsky, PhD

Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering

Alan H. Epstein, PhD

Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor Emeritus

Walter M. Hollister, ScD

Manuel Martínez-Sánchez, PhD

Earll M. Murman, PhD

Ford Professor of Engineering Emeritus

Amedeo R. Odoni, PhD

T. Wilson (1953) Professor Emeritus

Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Thomas B. Sheridan, ScD

Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Psychology

Robert Simpson, PhD

Sheila E. Widnall, ScD

Institute Professor Emerita

Professor Emerita of Aeronautics and Astronautics

16.00 Introduction to Aerospace and Design

Prereq: None U (Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-2-2 units

Highlights fundamental concepts and practices of aerospace engineering through lectures on aeronautics, astronautics, and the principles of project design and execution. Provides training in the use of Course 16 workshop tools and 3-D printers, and in computational tools, such as CAD. Students engage in teambuilding during an immersive, semester-long project in which teams design, build, and fly radio-controlled lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles. Emphasizes connections between theory and practice and introduces students to fundamental systems engineering practices, such as oral and written design reviews, performance estimation, and post-flight performance analysis.

J. A. Hoffman, R. J. Hansman

16.001 Unified Engineering: Materials and Structures

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) and Physics I (GIR) ; Coreq: 16.002 and 18.03 U (Fall) 5-1-6 units. REST

Presents fundamental principles and methods of materials and structures for aerospace engineering, and engineering analysis and design concepts applied to aerospace systems. Topics include statics; analysis of trusses; analysis of statically determinate and indeterminate systems; stress-strain behavior of materials; analysis of beam bending, buckling, and torsion; material and structural failure, including plasticity, fracture, fatigue, and their physical causes. Experiential lab and aerospace system projects provide additional aerospace context.

R. Radovitzky, D. L. Darmofal

16.002 Unified Engineering: Signals and Systems

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) ; Coreq: Physics II (GIR) , 16.001 , and ( 18.03 or 18.032 ) U (Fall) 5-1-6 units

Presents fundamental principles and methods of signals and systems for aerospace engineering, and engineering analysis and design concepts applied to aerospace systems. Topics include linear and time invariant systems; convolution; Fourier and Laplace transform analysis in continuous and discrete time; modulation, filtering, and sampling; and an introduction to feedback control. Experiential lab and system projects provide additional aerospace context. Labs, projects, and assignments involve the use of software such as MATLAB and/or Python.

16.003 Unified Engineering: Fluid Dynamics

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) , Physics II (GIR) , and ( 18.03 or 18.032 ); Coreq: 16.004 U (Spring) 5-1-6 units

Presents fundamental principles and methods of fluid dynamics for aerospace engineering, and engineering analysis and design concepts applied to aerospace systems. Topics include aircraft and aerodynamic performance, conservation laws for fluid flows, quasi-one-dimensional compressible flows, shock and expansion waves, streamline curvature, potential flow modeling, an introduction to three-dimensional wings and induced drag. Experiential lab and aerospace system projects provide additional aerospace context.

D. L. Darmofal

16.004 Unified Engineering: Thermodynamics and Propulsion

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) , Physics II (GIR) , and ( 18.03 or 18.032 ); Coreq: Chemistry (GIR) and 16.003 U (Spring) 5-1-6 units

Presents fundamental principles and methods of thermodynamics for aerospace engineering, and engineering analysis and design concepts applied to aerospace systems. Topics include thermodynamic state of a system, forms of energy, work, heat, the first law of thermodynamics, heat engines, reversible and irreversible processes, entropy and the second law of thermodynamics, ideal and non-ideal cycle analysis, two-phase systems, and introductions to thermochemistry and heat transfer. Experiential lab and aerospace system projects provide additional aerospace context.

Z. S. Spakovszky, D. L. Darmofal

Core Undergraduate Subjects

16.06 principles of automatic control.

Prereq: 16.002 U (Spring) 3-1-8 units

Introduction to design of feedback control systems. Properties and advantages of feedback systems. Time-domain and frequency-domain performance measures. Stability and degree of stability. Root locus method, Nyquist criterion, frequency-domain design, and some state space methods. Strong emphasis on the synthesis of classical controllers. Application to a variety of aerospace systems. Hands-on experiments using simple robotic systems.

16.07 Dynamics

Prereq: ( 16.001 or 16.002 ) and ( 16.003 or 16.004 ) U (Fall) 4-0-8 units

Fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics. Kinematics, particle dynamics, motion relative to accelerated reference frames, work and energy, impulse and momentum, systems of particles and rigid body dynamics. Applications to aerospace engineering including introductory topics in orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, inertial navigation and attitude dynamics.

16.09 Statistics and Probability

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) U (Spring) 4-0-8 units

Introduction to statistics and probability with applications to aerospace engineering. Covers essential topics, such as sample space, discrete and continuous random variables, probability distributions, joint and conditional distributions, expectation, transformation of random variables, limit theorems, estimation theory, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, statistical tests, and regression.

Y. M. Marzouk

Mechanics and Physics of Fluids

16.100 aerodynamics.

Prereq: 16.003 and 16.004 U (Fall) 3-1-8 units

Extends fluid mechanic concepts from Unified Engineering to aerodynamic performance of wings and bodies in sub/supersonic regimes. Addresses themes such as 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. Material may vary from year to year depending upon focus of design problem.

16.101 Topics in Fluids

Prereq: Permission of department U (IAP; partial term) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Provides credit for work on undergraduate-level material in fluids outside of regularly scheduled subjects. Intended for transfer credit and study abroad. Credit may be used to satisfy specific degree requirements in the Course 16 and Course 16-ENG programs. Requires prior approval. Consult department.

16.110 Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics

Prereq: 16.100 or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-1-8 units

Aerodynamic flow modeling and representation techniques. Potential farfield approximations. Airfoil and lifting-surface theory. Laminar and turbulent boundary layers and their effects on aerodynamic flows. Nearfield and farfield force analysis. Subsonic, transonic, and supersonic compressible flows. Experimental methods and measurement techniques. Aerodynamic models for flight dynamics.

16.120 Compressible Internal Flow

Prereq: 2.25 or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Internal compressible flow with applications in propulsion and fluid systems. Control volume analysis of compressible flow devices. Compressible channel flow and extensions, including effects of shock waves, momentum, energy and mass addition, swirl, and flow non-uniformity on Mach numbers, flow regimes, and choking.

E. M. Greitzer

16.122 Aerothermodynamics

Prereq: 2.25 , 18.085 , or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Analysis of external inviscid and viscous hypersonic flows over thin airfoils, lifting bodies of revolution, wedges, cones, and blunt nose bodies. Analyses formulated using singular perturbation and multiple scale methods. Hypersonic equivalence principle. Hypersonic similarity. Newtonian approximation. Curved, detached shock waves. Crocco theorem. Entropy layers. Shock layers. Blast waves. Hypersonic boundary layers.

W. L. Harris

16.13 Aerodynamics of Viscous Fluids

Prereq: 16.100 , 16.110 , or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Boundary layers as rational approximations to the solutions of exact equations of fluid motion. Physical parameters influencing laminar and turbulent aerodynamic flows and transition. Effects of compressibility, heat conduction, and frame rotation. Influence of boundary layers on outer potential flow and associated stall and drag mechanisms. Numerical solution techniques and exercises.

16.18 Fundamentals of Turbulence (16.950)

Prereq: 2.25 or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Introduces the fundamentals of turbulent flows, i.e., the chaotic motion of gases and liquids, along with the mathematical tools for turbulence research. Topics range from the classic viewpoint of turbulence to the theories developed in the last decade. Combines theory, data science, and numerical simulations, and is designed for a wide audience in the areas of aerospace, mechanical engineering, geophysics, and astrophysics.

A. Lozano-Duran

Materials and Structures

16.20 structural mechanics.

Prereq: 16.001 U (Spring) 5-0-7 units

Applies solid mechanics to analysis of high-technology structures. Structural design considerations. Review of three-dimensional elasticity theory; stress, strain, anisotropic materials, and heating effects. Two-dimensional plane stress and plane strain problems. Torsion theory for arbitrary sections. Bending of unsymmetrical section and mixed material beams. Bending, shear, and torsion of thin-wall shell beams. Buckling of columns and stability phenomena. Introduction to structural dynamics. Exercises in the design of general and aerospace structures.

16.201 Topics in Materials and Structures

Prereq: Permission of department U (Fall, IAP, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Provides credit for undergraduate-level work in materials and structures outside of regularly scheduled subjects. Intended for transfer credit and study abroad. Credit may be used to satisfy specific degree requirements in the Course 16 program. Requires prior approval. Consult M. A. Stuppard.

16.202 Manufacturing with Advanced Composite Materials

Prereq: None U (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 1-3-2 units

Introduces the methods used to manufacture parts made of advanced composite materials with work in the Technology Laboratory for Advanced Composites. Students gain hands-on experience by fabricating, machining, instrumenting, and testing graphite/epoxy specimens. Students also design, build, and test a composite structure as part of a design contest. Lectures supplement laboratory sessions with background information on the nature of composites, curing, composite machining, secondary bonding, and the testing of composites.

P. A. Lagace

16.221[J] Structural Dynamics

Same subject as 1.581[J] , 2.060[J] Subject meets with 1.058 Prereq: 18.03 or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 3-1-8 units

Examines response of structures to dynamic excitation: free vibration, harmonic loads, pulses and earthquakes. Covers systems of single- and multiple-degree-of-freedom, up to the continuum limit, by exact and approximate methods. Includes applications to buildings, ships, aircraft and offshore structures. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

16.223[J] Mechanics of Heterogeneous Materials

Same subject as 2.076[J] Prereq: 2.002 , 3.032, 16.20 , or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Fall) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

Mechanical behavior of heterogeneous materials such as thin-film microelectro- mechanical systems (MEMS) materials and advanced filamentary composites, with particular emphasis on laminated structural configurations. Anisotropic and crystallographic elasticity formulations. Structure, properties and mechanics of constituents such as films, substrates, active materials, fibers, and matrices including nano- and micro-scale constituents. Effective properties from constituent properties. Classical laminated plate theory for modeling structural behavior including extrinsic and intrinsic strains and stresses such as environmental effects. Introduction to buckling of plates and nonlinear (deformations) plate theory. Other issues in modeling heterogeneous materials such as fracture/failure of laminated structures.

B. L. Wardle, S-G. Kim

16.225[J] Computational Mechanics of Materials

Same subject as 2.099[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Formulation of numerical (finite element) methods for the analysis of the nonlinear continuum response of materials. The range of material behavior considered includes finite deformation elasticity and inelasticity. Numerical formulation and algorithms include variational formulation and variational constitutive updates; finite element discretization; constrained problems; time discretization and convergence analysis. Strong emphasis on the (parallel) computer implementation of algorithms in programming assignments. The application to real engineering applications and problems in engineering science are stressed throughout. Experience in either C++, C, or Fortran required.

R. Radovitzky

16.230[J] Plates and Shells: Static and Dynamic Analysis

Same subject as 2.081[J] Prereq: 2.071 , 2.080[J] , or permission of instructor G (Spring) 3-1-8 units

See description under subject 2.081[J] .

16.235 Design with High Temperature Materials

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Introduction to materials design for high-temperature applications. Fundamental principles of thermodynamics and kinetics of the oxidation and corrosion of materials in high-temperature, chemically aggressive environments. Relationship of oxidation theory to design of metals (iron-, cobalt-, nickel-, refractory- and intermetallic alloys), ceramics, composites (metal-, ceramic- and carbon-matrix, coated materials). Relationships between deformation mechanisms (creep, viscoelasticity, thermoelasticity) and microstructure for materials used at elevated temperature. Discussions of high-temperature oxidation, corrosion, and damage problems that occur in energy and aerospace systems.

Z. C. Cordero

Information and Control Engineering

16.30 feedback control systems.

Subject meets with 16.31 Prereq: 16.06 or permission of instructor U (Fall) 4-1-7 units

Studies state-space representation of dynamic systems, including model realizations, controllability, and observability. Introduces the state-space approach to multi-input-multi-output control system analysis and synthesis, including full state feedback using pole placement, linear quadratic regulator, stochastic state estimation, and the design of dynamic control laws. Also covers performance limitations and robustness. Extensive use of computer-aided control design tools. Applications to various aerospace systems, including navigation, guidance, and control of vehicles. Laboratory exercises utilize a palm-size drone. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

S. R. Hall, C. Fan

16.301 Topics in Control, Dynamics, and Automation

Provides credit for work on undergraduate-level material in control and/or dynamics and/or automation outside of regularly scheduled subjects. Intended for transfer credit and study abroad. Credit may be used to satisfy specific degree requirements in the Course 16 program. Requires prior approval. Consult department.

16.31 Feedback Control Systems

Subject meets with 16.30 Prereq: 16.06 or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-1-8 units

Graduate-level version of 16.30 ; see description under 16.30 . Includes additional homework questions, laboratory experiments, and a term project beyond 16.30 with a particular focus on the material associated with state-space realizations of MIMO transfer function (matrices); MIMO zeros, controllability, and observability; stochastic processes and estimation; limitations on performance; design and analysis of dynamic output feedback controllers; and robustness of multivariable control systems.

16.32 Principles of Optimal Control and Estimation

Prereq: 16.31 G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Fundamentals of optimal control and estimation for discrete and continuous systems. Briefly reviews constrained function minimization and stochastic processes. Topics in optimal control theory include dynamic programming, variational calculus, Pontryagin's maximum principle, and numerical algorithms and software. Topics in estimation include least-squares estimation, and the Kalman filter and its extensions for estimating the states of dynamic systems. May include an individual term project.

16.332 Formal Methods for Safe Autonomous Systems

Covers formal methods for designing and analyzing autonomous systems. Focuses on both classical and state-of-the-art rigorous methods for specifying, modeling, verifying, and synthesizing various behaviors for systems where embedded computing units monitor and control physical processes. Additionally, covers advanced material on combining formal methods with control theory and machine learning theory for modern safety critical autonomous systems powered by AI techniques such as robots, self-driving cars, and drones. Strong emphasis on the use of various mathematical and software tools to provide safety, soundness, and completeness guarantees for system models with different levels of fidelity.

16.338[J] Dynamic Systems and Control

Same subject as 6.7100[J] Prereq: 6.3000 and 18.06 Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 4-0-8 units

See description under subject 6.7100[J] .

M. A. Dahleh, A. Megretski

16.343 Spacecraft and Aircraft Sensors and Instrumentation

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Covers fundamental sensor and instrumentation principles in the context of systems designed for space or atmospheric flight. Systems discussed include basic measurement system for force, temperature, pressure; navigation systems (Global Positioning System, Inertial Reference Systems, radio navigation), air data systems, communication systems; spacecraft attitude determination by stellar, solar, and horizon sensing; remote sensing by incoherent and Doppler radar, radiometry, spectrometry, and interferometry. Also included is a review of basic electromagnetic theory and antenna design and discussion of design considerations for flight. Alternate years.

16.346 Astrodynamics

Prereq: 18.03 Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Fundamentals of astrodynamics; the two-body orbital initial-value and boundary-value problems with applications to space vehicle navigation and guidance for lunar and planetary missions with applications to space vehicle navigation and guidance for lunar and planetary missions including both powered flight and midcourse maneuvers. Topics include celestial mechanics, Kepler's problem, Lambert's problem, orbit determination, multi-body methods, mission planning, and recursive algorithms for space navigation. Selected applications from the Apollo, Space Shuttle, and Mars exploration programs.

S. E. Widnall, R. Linares

16.35 Real-Time Systems and Software

Prereq: 1.00 or 6.100B U (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Concepts, principles, and methods for specifying and designing real-time computer systems. Topics include concurrency, real-time execution implementation, scheduling, testing, verification, real-time analysis, and software engineering concepts. Additional topics include operating system architecture, process management, and networking.

16.355[J] Concepts in the Engineering of Software

Same subject as IDS.341[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Reading and discussion on issues in the engineering of software systems and software development project design. Includes the present state of software engineering, what has been tried in the past, what worked, what did not, and why. Topics may differ in each offering, but are chosen from the software process and life cycle; requirements and specifications; design principles; testing, formal analysis, and reviews; quality management and assessment; product and process metrics; COTS and reuse; evolution and maintenance; team organization and people management; and software engineering aspects of programming languages.  Enrollment may be limited.

N. G. Leveson

16.36 Communication Systems and Networks

Subject meets with 16.363 Prereq: ( 6.3000 or 16.002 ) and ( 6.3700 or 16.09 ) U (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Introduces the fundamentals of digital communications and networking. Topics include elements of information theory, sampling and quantization, coding, modulation, signal detection and system performance in the presence of noise. Study of data networking includes multiple access, reliable packet transmission, routing and protocols of the internet. Concepts discussed in the context of aerospace communication systems: aircraft communications, satellite communications, and deep space communications. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

E. H. Modiano

16.363 Communication Systems and Networks

Subject meets with 16.36 Prereq: ( 6.3000 or 16.004 ) and ( 6.3700 or 16.09 ) G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Introduces the fundamentals of digital communications and networking, focusing on the study of networks, including protocols, performance analysis, and queuing theory. Topics include elements of information theory, sampling and quantization, coding, modulation, signal detection and system performance in the presence of noise. Study of data networking includes multiple access, reliable packet transmission, routing and protocols of the internet. Concepts discussed in the context of aerospace communication systems: aircraft communications, satellite communications, and deep space communications. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

16.37[J] Data-Communication Networks

Same subject as 6.7450[J] Prereq: 6.3700 or 18.204 Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

See description under subject 6.7450[J] .

16.391 Statistics for Engineers and Scientists

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) , 18.06 , 6.431, or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Rigorous introduction to fundamentals of statistics motivated by engineering applications. Topics include exponential families, order statistics, sufficient statistics, estimation theory, hypothesis testing, measures of performance, notions of optimality, analysis of variance (ANOVA), simple linear regression, and selected topics.

16.393 Statistical Communication and Localization Theory

Prereq: None G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Rigorous introduction to statistical communication and localization theory, covering essential topics such as modulation and demodulation of signals, derivation of optimal receivers, characterization of wireless channels, and devising of ranging and localization techniques. Applies decision theory, estimation theory, and modulation theory to the design and analysis of modern communication and localization systems exploring synchronization, diversity, and cooperation. Selected topics will be discussed according to time schedule and class interest.

16.395 Principles of Wide Bandwidth Communication

Prereq: 6.3010 , 16.36 , or permission of instructor G (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-0-9 units

Introduction to the principles of wide bandwidth wireless communication, with a focus on ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) systems. Topics include the basics of spread-spectrum systems, impulse radio, Rake reception, transmitted reference signaling, spectral analysis, coexistence issues, signal acquisition, channel measurement and modeling, regulatory issues, and ranging, localization and GPS. Consists of lectures and technical presentations by students.

Humans and Automation

16.400 human systems engineering.

Subject meets with 16.453[J] , HST.518[J] Prereq: 6.3700 , 16.09 , or permission of instructor U (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Provides a fundamental understanding of human factors that must be taken into account in the design and engineering of complex aviation, space, and medical systems. Focuses primarily on derivation of human engineering design criteria from sensory, motor, and cognitive sources. Includes principles of displays, controls and ergonomics, manual control, the nature of human error, basic experimental design, and human-computer interaction in supervisory control settings. Students taking graduate version complete a research project with a final written report and oral presentation.

16.401 Topics in Communication and Software

Provides credit for undergraduate-level work in communications and/or software outside of regularly scheduled subjects. Intended for transfer credit and study abroad. Credit may be used to satisfy specific degree requirements in the Course 16 program. Requires prior approval. Consult M. A. Stuppard.

16.405[J] Robotics: Science and Systems

Same subject as 2.124[J] , 6.4200[J] Prereq: (( 1.00 or 6.100A ) and ( 2.003[J] , 6.1010 , 6.1210 , or 16.06 )) or permission of instructor U (Spring) 2-6-4 units. Institute LAB

See description under subject 6.4200[J] . Enrollment limited.

L. Carlone, S. Karaman, D. Hadfield-Manell, J. Leonard

16.410[J] Principles of Autonomy and Decision Making

Same subject as 6.4130[J] Subject meets with 6.4132[J] , 16.413[J] Prereq: 6.100B or 6.9080 U (Fall) 4-0-8 units

Surveys decision making methods used to create highly autonomous systems and decision aids. Applies models, principles and algorithms taken from artificial intelligence and operations research. Focuses on planning as state-space search, including uninformed, informed and stochastic search, activity and motion planning, probabilistic and adversarial planning, Markov models and decision processes, and Bayesian filtering. Also emphasizes planning with real-world constraints using constraint programming. Includes methods for satisfiability and optimization of logical, temporal and finite domain constraints, graphical models, and linear and integer programs, as well as methods for search, inference, and conflict-learning. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

H. E. Shrobe

16.412[J] Cognitive Robotics

Same subject as 6.8110[J] Prereq: ( 6.4100 or 16.413[J] ) and ( 6.1200[J] , 6.3700 , or 16.09 ) G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Highlights algorithms and paradigms for creating human-robot systems that act intelligently and robustly, by reasoning from models of themselves, their counterparts and their world. Examples include space and undersea explorers, cooperative vehicles, manufacturing robot teams and everyday embedded devices. Themes include architectures for goal-directed systems; decision-theoretic programming and robust execution; state-space programming, activity and path planning; risk-bounded programming and risk-bounded planners; self-monitoring and self-diagnosing systems, and human-robot collaboration. Student teams explore recent advances in cognitive robots through delivery of advanced lectures and final projects, in support of a class-wide grand challenge. Enrollment may be limited.

B. C. Williams

16.413[J] Principles of Autonomy and Decision Making

Same subject as 6.4132[J] Subject meets with 6.4130[J] , 16.410[J] Prereq: 6.100B , 6.9080 , or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

16.420 Planning Under Uncertainty

Subject meets with 6.4110 Prereq: 16.413[J] G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Concepts, principles, and methods for planning with imperfect knowledge. Topics include state estimation, planning in information space, partially observable Markov decision processes, reinforcement learning and planning with uncertain models. Students will develop an understanding of how different planning algorithms and solutions techniques are useful in different problem domains. Previous coursework in artificial intelligence and state estimation strongly recommended.

N. Roy, Staff

16.422 Human Supervisory Control of Automated Systems

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Fall) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-1-8 units

Principles of supervisory control and telerobotics. Different levels of automation are discussed, as well as the allocation of roles and authority between humans and machines. Human-vehicle interface design in highly automated systems. Decision aiding. Trade-offs between human control and human monitoring. Automated alerting systems and human intervention in automatic operation. Enhanced human interface technologies such as virtual presence. Performance, optimization, and social implications of the human-automation system. Examples from aerospace, ground, and undersea vehicles, robotics, and industrial systems.

16.423[J] Aerospace Biomedical and Life Support Engineering

Same subject as HST.515[J] , IDS.337[J] Prereq: 16.06 , 16.400 , or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Fundamentals of human performance, physiology, and life support impacting engineering design and aerospace systems. Topics include effects of gravity on the muscle, skeletal, cardiovascular, and neurovestibular systems; human/pilot modeling and human/machine design; flight experiment design; and life support engineering for extravehicular activity (EVA). Case studies of current research are presented. Assignments include a design project, quantitative homework sets, and quizzes emphasizing engineering and systems aspects.

D. J. Newman

16.445[J] Entrepreneurship in Aerospace and Mobility Systems

Same subject as STS.468[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Examines concepts and procedures for new venture creation in aerospace and mobility systems, and other arenas where safety, regulation, and infrastructure are significant components. Includes space systems, aviation, autonomous vehicles, urban aerial mobility, transit, and similar arenas. Includes preparation for entrepreneurship, founders' dilemmas, venture finance, financial modeling and unit economics, fundraising and pitching, recruiting, problem definition, organizational creation, value proposition, go-to-market, and product development. Includes team-based final projects on problem definition, technical innovation, and pitch preparation.

D. A. Mindell

16.453[J] Human Systems Engineering

Same subject as HST.518[J] Subject meets with 16.400 Prereq: 6.3700 , 16.09 , or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

L. A. Stirling

16.456[J] Biomedical Signal and Image Processing

Same subject as 6.8800[J] , HST.582[J] Subject meets with 6.8801[J] , HST.482[J] Prereq: ( 6.3700 and ( 2.004 , 6.3000 , 16.002 , or 18.085 )) or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Spring) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-1-8 units

See description under subject 6.8800[J] .

J. Greenberg, E. Adalsteinsson, W. Wells

16.459 Bioengineering Journal Article Seminar

Prereq: None G (Fall, Spring) 1-0-1 units Can be repeated for credit.

Each term, the class selects a new set of professional journal articles on bioengineering topics of current research interest. Some papers are chosen because of particular content, others are selected because they illustrate important points of methodology. Each week, one student leads the discussion, evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, and importance of each paper. Subject may be repeated for credit a maximum of four terms. Letter grade given in the last term applies to all accumulated units of 16.459 .

16.470 Statistical Methods in Experimental Design

Prereq: 6.3700 , 16.09 , or permission of instructor G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Statistically based experimental design inclusive of forming hypotheses, planning and conducting experiments, analyzing data, and interpreting and communicating results. Topics include descriptive statistics, statistical inference, hypothesis testing, parametric and nonparametric statistical analyses, factorial ANOVA, randomized block designs, MANOVA, linear regression, repeated measures models, and application of statistical software packages.

16.475 Human-Computer Interface Design Colloquium

Prereq: None G (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-0-2 units

Provides guidance on design and evaluation of human-computer interfaces for students with active research projects. Roundtable discussion on developing user requirements, human-centered design principles, and testing and evaluating methodologies. Students present their work and evaluate each other's projects. Readings complement specific focus areas. Team participation encouraged. Open to advanced undergraduates.

16.485 Visual Navigation for Autonomous Vehicles

Prereq: 16.32 or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-2-7 units

Covers the mathematical foundations and state-of-the-art implementations of algorithms for vision-based navigation of autonomous vehicles (e.g., mobile robots, self-driving cars, drones). Topics include geometric control, 3D vision, visual-inertial navigation, place recognition, and simultaneous localization and mapping. Provides students with a rigorous but pragmatic overview of differential geometry and optimization on manifolds and knowledge of the fundamentals of 2-view and multi-view geometric vision for real-time motion estimation, calibration, localization, and mapping. The theoretical foundations are complemented with hands-on labs based on state-of-the-art mini race car and drone platforms. Culminates in a critical review of recent advances in the field and a team project aimed at advancing the state-of-the-art.

L. Carlone, J. How, K. Khosoussi

Propulsion and Energy Conversion

16.50 aerospace propulsion.

Prereq: 16.003 and ( 2.005 or 16.004 ) U (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Presents aerospace propulsive devices as systems, with functional requirements and engineering and environmental limitations. Requirements and limitations that constrain design choices. Both air-breathing and rocket engines covered, at a level which enables rational integration of the propulsive system into an overall vehicle design. Mission analysis, fundamental performance relations, and exemplary design solutions presented.

S. Barrett, J. Sabnis

16.501 Topics in Propulsion (New)

Prereq: Permission of department U (IAP, Spring) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Provides credit for work on undergraduate-level material in propulsion outside of regularly scheduled subjects. Intended for transfer credit and study abroad. Credit may be used to satisfy specific degree requirements in the Course 16 and Course 16-ENG programs. Requires prior approval. Consult department.

16.511 Aircraft Engines and Gas Turbines

Prereq: 16.50 or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Performance and characteristics of aircraft jet engines and industrial gas turbines, as determined by thermodynamic and fluid mechanic behavior of engine components: inlets, compressors, combustors, turbines, and nozzles. Discusses various engine types, including advanced turbofan configurations, limitations imposed by material properties and stresses. Emphasizes future design trends including reduction of noise, pollutant formation, fuel consumption, and weight.

16.512 Rocket Propulsion

Prereq: 16.50 or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Fall) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

Chemical rocket propulsion systems for launch, orbital, and interplanetary flight. Modeling of solid, liquid-bipropellant, and hybrid rocket engines. Thermochemistry, prediction of specific impulse. Nozzle flows including real gas and kinetic effects. Structural constraints. Propellant feed systems, turbopumps. Combustion processes in solid, liquid, and hybrid rockets. Cooling; heat sink, ablative, and regenerative.

C. Guerra-Garcia

16.522 Space Propulsion

Prereq: 8.02 or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Spring) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-3-6 units

Reviews rocket propulsion fundamentals. Discusses advanced concepts in space propulsion with emphasis on high-specific impulse electric engines. Topics include advanced mission analysis; the physics and engineering of electrothermal, electrostatic, and electromagnetic schemes for accelerating propellant; and orbital mechanics for the analysis of continuous thrust trajectories. Laboratory term project emphasizes the design, construction, and testing of an electric propulsion thruster.

P. C. Lozano

16.530 Advanced Propulsion Concepts

Prereq: 16.50 , 16.511 , 16.512 , or 16.522 Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Spring) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

Considers the challenge of achieving net-zero climate impacts, as well as the opportunities presented by the resurgence of investment in new or renewed ideas. Explores advanced propulsion concepts that are not in use or well-developed, but that have established operation principles and could either contribute to environmental performance or are applicable to new aerospace services. Topics vary but may include: electric and turbo-electric aircraft propulsion; batteries, cryogenic fuels, and biofuels; combustion and emissions control concepts; propulsion for UAVs and urban air mobility; propulsion for supersonic and hypersonic vehicles; reusable space access vehicle propulsion; and propulsion in very low earth orbit. Includes a project to evaluate an advanced propulsion concept.

S. Barrett, J. J. Sabnis, Z. Spakovszky

16.540 Internal Flows in Turbomachines

Prereq: 2.25 or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Spring) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

Internal fluid motions in turbomachines, propulsion systems, ducts and channels, and other fluid machinery. Useful basic ideas, fundamentals of rotational flows, loss sources and loss accounting in fluid devices, unsteady internal flow and flow instability, flow in rotating passages, swirling flow, generation of streamwise vorticity and three-dimensional flow, non-uniform flow in fluid components.

16.55[J] Ionized Gases

Same subject as 22.64[J] Prereq: 8.02 or permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Properties and behavior of low-temperature plasmas for energy conversion, plasma propulsion, and gas lasers. Equilibrium of ionized gases: energy states, statistical mechanics, and relationship to thermodynamics. Kinetic theory: motion of charged particles, distribution function, collisions, characteristic lengths and times, cross sections, and transport properties. Gas surface interactions: thermionic emission, sheaths, and probe theory. Radiation in plasmas and diagnostics.

C. Guerra Garcia

Other Undergraduate Subjects

16.ur undergraduate research.

Prereq: None U (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer) Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

Undergraduate research opportunities in aeronautics and astronautics.

Consult M. A. Stuppard

16.C20[J] Introduction to Computational Science and Engineering

Same subject as 9.C20[J] , 18.C20[J] , CSE.C20[J] Prereq: 6.100A ; Coreq: 8.01 and 18.01 U (Fall, Spring; second half of term) 3-0-3 units Credit cannot also be received for 6.100B

Provides an introduction to computational algorithms used throughout engineering and science (natural and social) to simulate time-dependent phenomena; optimize and control systems; and quantify uncertainty in problems involving randomness, including an introduction to probability and statistics. Combination of 6.100A and 16.C20[J] counts as REST subject.

D. L. Darmofal, N. Seethapathi

16.C25[J] Real World Computation with Julia (New)

Same subject as 1.C25[J] , 6.C25[J] , 12.C25[J] , 18.C25[J] , 22.C25[J] Prereq: 6.100A , 18.03 , and 18.06 U (Fall) 3-0-9 units

See description under subject 18.C25[J] .

A. Edelman, R. Ferrari, B. Forget, C. Leiseron,Y. Marzouk, J. Williams

16.EPE UPOP Engineering Practice Experience

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 1.EPE , 2.EPE , 3.EPE , 6.EPE , 8.EPE , 10.EPE , 15.EPE , 16.EPE , 20.EPE , 22.EPE Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring) 0-0-1 units Can be repeated for credit.

See description under subject 2.EPE . Application required; consult UPOP website for more information.

K. Tan-Tiongco, D. Fordell

16.EPW UPOP Engineering Practice Workshop

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 1.EPW , 2.EPW , 3.EPW , 6.EPW , 10.EPW , 16.EPW , 20.EPW , 22.EPW Prereq: 2.EPE U (IAP, Spring) 1-0-0 units

See description under subject 2.EPW . Enrollment limited to those in the UPOP program.

16.S685 Special Subject in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: Permission of instructor U (IAP; partial term) Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

Basic undergraduate topics not offered in regularly scheduled subjects. Subject to approval of faculty in charge. Prior approval required.

Consult Y. M. Marzouk

16.S686 Special Subject in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: Permission of instructor U (Fall, Spring) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Opportunity for study or lab work related to aeronautics and astronautics not covered in regularly scheduled subjects. Subject to approval of faculty in charge. Prior approval required.

16.S688 Special Subject in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Opportunity for study or lab work related to aeronautics and astronautics but not covered in regularly scheduled subjects. Prior approval required.

16.621 Experimental Projects I

Prereq: None. Coreq: 16.06 or 16.07 U (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-1-3 units

First in a two-term sequence that addresses the conception and design of a student-defined or selected experimental research project carried out by two-person team under faculty advisement. Principles of research hypothesis formulation and assessment, experimental measurements and error analysis, and effective report writing and oral presentation, with instruction both in-class and on an individual and team basis. Selection and detailed planning of a research project, including in-depth design of experimental procedure that is then carried through to completion in 16.622 .

16.622 Experimental Projects II

Prereq: 16.621 U (Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 1-7-4 units. Institute LAB

Execution of research project experiments based on the plan developed in 16.621 . Working with their faculty advisor and course staff, student teams construct their experiment, carry out measurements of the relevant phenomena, analyze the data, and then apply the results to assess the research hypothesis. Includes instruction on effective report writing and oral presentations culminating in a written final report and formal oral presentation.

S. R. Hall, J. L. Craig, P. C. Lozano, S. E. Widnall

16.63[J] System Safety

Same subject as IDS.045[J] Prereq: None U (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-0-9 units. REST

Introduces the concepts of system safety and how to analyze and design safer systems. Topics include the causes of accidents in general, and recent major accidents in particular; hazard analysis, safety-driven design techniques; design of human-automation interaction; integrating safety into the system engineering process; and managing and operating safety-critical systems.

16.632 Introduction to Autonomous Machines

Prereq: None. Coreq: 2.086 or 6.100A U (Fall, IAP) 2-2-2 units

Experiential seminar provides an introduction to the fundamental aspects of robust autonomous machines that includes an overall systems/component-level overview. Projects involve hands-on investigations with a variety of sensors and completely functioning, small-scale autonomous machines utilized for in-class implementation/testing of control algorithms. Students should have concurrent or prior programming experience. Preference to students in the NEET Autonomous Machines thread.

J. P. How, S. Karaman, G. Long

16.633 NEET Junior Seminar: Autonomous Machines

Prereq: None U (Fall) 1-1-1 units

Project-based seminar provides instruction on how to program basic autonomy algorithms for a micro aerial vehicle equipped with a camera. Begins by introducing the constituent hardware and components of a quadrotor drone. As this subject progresses, the students practice using simple signal processing, state estimation, control, and computer vision algorithms for mobile robotics. Students program the micro aerial vehicle to compete in a variety of challenges. Limited to students in the NEET Autonomous Machines thread.

16.634 NEET Senior Seminar: Autonomous Machines

Provides a foundation for students taking 16.84 as part of the NEET Autonomous Machines thread. Through a set of focused activities, students determine the autonomous system they will design, which includes outlining the materials, facilities, and resources they need to create the system. Limited to students in the NEET Autonomous Machines thread or with instructor's permission.

16.64 Flight Measurement Laboratory

Prereq: 16.002 U (Spring) 2-2-2 units

Opportunity to see aeronautical theory applied in real-world environment of flight. Students assist in design and execution of simple engineering flight experiments in light aircraft. Typical investigations include determination of stability derivatives, verification of performance specifications, and measurement of navigation system characteristics. Restricted to students in Aeronautics and Astronautics.

R. J. Hansman

16.645[J] Dimensions of Geoengineering

Same subject as 1.850[J] , 5.000[J] , 10.600[J] , 11.388[J] , 12.884[J] , 15.036[J] Prereq: None G (Fall; first half of term) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-0-4 units

See description under subject 5.000[J] . Limited to 100.

J. Deutch, M. Zuber

16.650 Engineering Leadership Lab

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 6.9110 , 16.650 Subject meets with 6.9130[J] , 16.667[J] Prereq: None. Coreq: 6.9120 ; or permission of instructor U (Fall, Spring) 0-2-1 units Can be repeated for credit.

See description under subject 6.9110 . Preference to students enrolled in the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program.

L. McGonagle, J. Feiler

16.651 Engineering Leadership

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 6.9120 , 16.651 Prereq: None. Coreq: 6.9110 ; or permission of instructor U (Fall, Spring) 1-0-2 units Can be repeated for credit.

See description under subject 6.9120 . Preference to first-year students in the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program.

J. Magarian

16.653 Management in Engineering

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 2.96 , 6.9360 , 10.806 , 16.653 Prereq: None U (Fall) 3-1-8 units

See description under subject 2.96 . Restricted to juniors and seniors.

H. S. Marcus, J.-H. Chun

16.66 MATLAB Skills for Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (Fall; first half of term) Not offered regularly; consult department 1-0-2 units

Introduction to basic MATLAB skills in programming, analysis, and plotting. Recommended for sophomores without previous MATLAB experience. Preference to Course 16 majors.

16.6621[J] Introduction to Design Thinking and Innovation in Engineering

Same subject as 2.7231[J] , 6.9101[J] Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring; first half of term) 2-0-1 units

See description under subject 6.9101[J] . Enrollment limited to 25; priority to first-year students.

16.662A Design Thinking and Innovation Leadership for Engineers

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 2.723A , 6.910A , 16.662A Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring; first half of term) 2-0-1 units

See description under subject 6.910A .

16.662B Design Thinking and Innovation Project

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 2.723B , 6.910B , 16.662B Prereq: 6.910A U (Fall, Spring; second half of term) 2-0-1 units

See description under subject 6.910B .

16.667 Engineering Leadership Lab

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 6.9130 , 16.667 Subject meets with 6.9110[J] , 16.650[J] Prereq: 6.910A , 6.9110 , 6.9120 , or permission of instructor U (Fall, Spring) 0-2-4 units Can be repeated for credit.

See description under subject 6.9130 . Preference to students enrolled in the second year of the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program.

16.669 Project Engineering

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 6.9140 , 16.669 Prereq: ( 6.910A and ( 6.9110 or 6.9120 )) or permission of instructor U (IAP) 4-0-0 units

See description under subject 6.9140 . Preference to students in the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program.

O. de Weck, J. Feiler, L. McGonagle, R. Rahaman

16.671[J] Leading Innovation in Teams

Same subject as 6.9150[J] Prereq: None U (Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-0-6 units

See description under subject 6.9150[J] . Enrollment limited to seating capacity of classroom. Admittance may be controlled by lottery.

D. Nino, J. Schindall

16.676 Ethics for Engineers

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 1.082 , 2.900 , 6.9320 , 10.01 , 16.676 , 22.014 Subject meets with 6.9321 , 20.005 Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring) 2-0-4 units

See description under subject 10.01 .

D. A. Lauffenberger, B. L. Trout

16.680 Project in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (Fall, IAP, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

Opportunity to work on projects related to aerospace engineering outside the department. Requires prior approval.

16.681 Topics in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring, Summer) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Opportunity for study or laboratory project work not available elsewhere in the curriculum. Topics selected in consultation with the instructor.

16.682 Selected Topics in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (IAP) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Study by qualified students. Topics selected in consultation with the instructor. Prior approval required.

16.683 Seminar in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (Fall, IAP, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-0-0 units Can be repeated for credit.

Speakers from campus and industry discuss current activities and advances in aeronautics and astronautics. Restricted to Course 16 students.

16.687 Selected Topics in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None U (IAP; partial term) Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

16.691 Practicum Experience

For Course 16 students participating in curriculum-related off-campus experiences in aerospace engineering and related areas. Before enrolling, a student must have an offer from a company or organization; must identify an appropriate supervisor in the AeroAstro department who, along with the off-campus supervisor, evaluate the student's performance; and must receive prior approval from the AeroAstro department. At the conclusion of the training, the student submits a substantive final report for review and approval by the MIT supervisor. Can be taken for up to 3 units. Contact the AeroAstro Undergraduate Office for details on procedures and restrictions.

Consult M. Stuppard

Flight Transportation

16.707[j] the history of aviation.

Same subject as STS.467[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

See description under subject STS.467[J] .

16.71[J] The Airline Industry

Same subject as 1.232[J] , 15.054[J] Prereq: None G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Overview of the global airline industry, focusing on recent industry performance, current issues and challenges for the future. Fundamentals of airline industry structure, airline economics, operations planning, safety, labor relations, airports and air traffic control, marketing, and competitive strategies, with an emphasis on the interrelationships among major industry stakeholders. Recent research findings of the MIT Global Airline Industry Program are showcased, including the impacts of congestion and delays, evolution of information technologies, changing human resource management practices, and competitive effects of new entrant airlines. Taught by faculty participants of the Global Airline Industry Program.

P. P. Belobaba, H. Balakrishnan, A. I. Barnett, R. J. Hansman, T. A. Kochan

16.715 Aerospace, Energy, and the Environment

Prereq: Chemistry (GIR) and ( 1.060 , 2.006 , 10.301 , 16.003 , 16.004 , or permission of instructor) G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Addresses energy and environmental challenges facing aerospace in the 21st century. Topics include: aircraft performance and energy requirements, propulsion technologies, jet fuels and alternative fuels, lifecycle assessment of fuels, combustion, emissions, climate change due to aviation, aircraft contrails, air pollution impacts of aviation, impacts of supersonic aircraft, and aviation noise. Includes an in-depth introduction to the relevant atmospheric and combustion physics and chemistry with no prior knowledge assumed. Discussion and analysis of near-term technological, fuel-based, regulatory and operational mitigation options for aviation, and longer-term technical possibilities.

16.72 Air Traffic Control

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Introduces the various aspects of present and future Air Traffic Control systems. Descriptions of the present system: systems-analysis approach to problems of capacity and safety; surveillance, including NAS and ARTS; navigation subsystem technology; aircraft guidance and control; communications; collision avoidance systems; sequencing and spacing in terminal areas; future directions and development; critical discussion of past proposals and of probable future problem areas. Requires term paper.

H. Balakrishnan

16.763[J] Air Transportation Operations Research

Same subject as 1.233[J] Prereq: 6.3702 , 15.093[J] , 16.71[J] , or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Spring) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

Presents a unified view of advanced quantitative analysis and optimization techniques applied to the air transportation sector. Considers the problem of operating and managing the aviation sector from the perspectives of the system operators (e.g., the FAA), the airlines, and the resultant impacts on the end-users (the passengers). Explores models and optimization approaches to system-level problems, airline schedule planning problems, and airline management challenges. Term paper required.

H. Balakrishnan, C. Barnhart, P. P. Belobaba

16.767 Introduction to Airline Transport Aircraft Systems and Automation

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (IAP) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-2-1 units

Intensive one-week subject that uses the Boeing 767 aircraft as an example of a system of systems. Focuses on design drivers and compromises, system interactions, and human-machine interface. Morning lectures, followed by afternoon desktop simulator sessions. Critique and comparison with other transport aircraft designs. Includes one evening at Boston Logan International Airport aboard an aircraft. Enrollment limited.

C. M. Oman, B. Nield

16.781[J] Planning and Design of Airport Systems

Same subject as 1.231[J] , IDS.670[J] Prereq: None Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Focuses on current practice, developing trends, and advanced concepts in airport design and planning. Considers economic, environmental, and other trade-offs related to airport location, as well as the impacts of emphasizing "green" measures. Includes an analysis of the effect of airline operations on airports. Topics include demand prediction, determination of airfield capacity, and estimation of levels of congestion; terminal design; the role of airports in the aviation and transportation system; access problems; optimal configuration of air transport networks and implications for airport development; and economics, financing, and institutional aspects. Special attention to international practice and developments.

R. de Neufville, A. R. Odoni

Aerospace Systems

16.810 engineering design and rapid prototyping.

Prereq: ( 6.9110 and 6.9120 ) or permission of instructor U (IAP) 3-3-0 units

Builds fundamental skills in engineering design and develops a holistic view of the design process through conceiving, designing, prototyping, and testing a multidisciplinary component or system. Students are provided with the context in which the component or system must perform; they then follow a process to identify alternatives, enact a workable design, and improve the design through multi-objective optimization. The performance of end-state designs is verified by testing. Though students develop a physical component or system, the project is formulated so those from any engineering discipline can participate. The focus is on the design process itself, as well as the complementary roles of human creativity and computational approaches. Designs are built by small teams who submit their work to a design competition. Pedagogy based on active learning, blending lectures with design and manufacturing activities.  Limited to 30 students. Preference given to students in the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program.

O. L. de Weck, J. Magarian

16.82 Flight Vehicle Engineering

Prereq: Permission of instructor U (Spring) 3-3-6 units

Design of an atmospheric flight vehicle to satisfy stated performance, stability, and control requirements. Emphasizes individual initiative, application of fundamental principles, and the compromises inherent in the engineering design process. Includes instruction and practice in written and oral communication, through team presentations and a written final report. Course 16 students are expected to complete two professional or concentration subjects from the departmental program before taking this capstone. Offered alternate Spring and Fall terms.

R. J. Hansman, M. Drela

16.821 Flight Vehicle Development

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: U (Spring) 2-10-6 units. Institute LAB

Focuses on implementation and operation of a flight system. Emphasizes system integration, implementation, and performance verification using methods of experimental inquiry, and addresses principles of laboratory safety. Students refine subsystem designs and fabricate working prototypes. Includes component integration into the full system with detailed analysis and operation of the complete vehicle in the laboratory and in the field, as well as experimental analysis of subsystem performance, comparison with physical models of performance and design goals, and formal review of the overall system design. Knowledge of the engineering design process is helpful. Provides instruction in written and oral communication.

16.83[J] Space Systems Engineering

Same subject as 12.43[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor U (Fall) 3-3-6 units

Design of a complete space system, including systems analysis, trajectory analysis, entry dynamics, propulsion and power systems, structural design, avionics, thermal and environmental control, human factors, support systems, and weight and cost estimates. Students participate in teams, each responsible for an integrated vehicle design, providing experience in project organization and interaction between disciplines. Includes several aspects of team communication including three formal presentations, informal progress reports, colleague assessments, and written reports. Course 16 students are expected to complete two professional or concentration subjects from the departmental program before taking this capstone. Offered alternate fall and spring terms.

16.831[J] Space Systems Development

Same subject as 12.431[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: U (Spring) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 2-10-6 units. Institute LAB

Students build a space system, focusing on refinement of sub-system designs and fabrication of full-scale prototypes. Sub-systems are integrated into a vehicle and tested. Sub-system performance is verified using methods of experimental inquiry, and is compared with physical models of performance and design goals. Communication skills are honed through written and oral reports. Formal reviews include the Implementation Plan Review and the Acceptance Review. Knowledge of the engineering design process is helpful.

16.839[J] Operating in the Lunar Environment

Same subject as MAS.839[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-2-8 units

See description under subject MAS.839[J] . Enrollment limited; admission by application.

J. Hoffman, A. Ekblaw

16.84 Advanced Autonomous Robotic Systems

Prereq: 6.4200[J] or permission of instructor U (Spring) 2-6-4 units

Students design an autonomous vehicle system to satisfy stated performance goals. Emphasizes both hardware and software components of the design and implementation. Entails application of fundamental principles and design engineering in both individual and group efforts. Students showcase the final design to the public at the end of the term.

J. P. How, S. Karaman

16.842 Fundamentals of Systems Engineering

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) 2-0-4 units

General introduction to systems engineering for aerospace and more general electro-mechanical-cyber systems. Built on the V-model as well as an agile approach. Topics include stakeholder analysis, requirements definition, system architecture and concept generation, trade-space exploration and concept selection, design definition and optimization, system integration and interface management, system safety, verification and validation, and commissioning and operations. Discusses the trade-offs between performance, life-cycle cost and system operability. Readings based on systems engineering standards. Individual homework assignments apply concepts from class. Prepares students for the systems field exam in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

E. F. Crawley

16.851 Introduction to Satellite Engineering

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall; first half of term) 2-0-4 units

Covers the principles and governing equations fundamental to the design, launch, and operation of artificial satellites in Earth's orbit and beyond. Material includes the vis-viva equation; the rocket equation; basic orbital maneuvers, including Hohmann transfers; bielliptic trajectories, as well as spiral transfers; the link budget equation; spacecraft power and propulsion; thermal equilibrium and interactions of spacecraft with the space environment, such as aerodynamic drag; electrostatic charging; radiation; and meteorids. Spacecraft are initially treated parametrically as point masses and then as rigid bodies subject to Euler's equations of rotational motion. Serves as a prerequisite for more advanced material in satellite engineering, including the technological implementation of various subsystems. Lectures are offered in a hybrid format, in person and remote.

K. Cahoy, O. L. de Weck

16.853 Advanced Satellite Engineering

Prereq: 16.66 and 16.851 G (Fall; second half of term) 2-0-4 units

Advanced material in satellite engineering, including the physical implementation of spacecraft hardware and software in payloads and bus subsystems, including structures, attitude determination and control, electrical power systems (EPS), control and data handling (CDH), guidance navigation and control (GNC), thermal management, communications, and others. Examples of spacecraft technologies and design tradeoffs are highlighted based on past, current, and future missions. Emphasis on mission success and identification and preventation of spacecraft and mission failures modes. Prepares students for the design of Earth observation as well as interplanetary science missions. Advanced assignments require computational skills in Matlab or Python and short presentations. Guest speakers from NASA and industry. Serves as a basis for the field examination in space systems.

16.854 Spacecraft Laboratory

Prereq: 16.851 and permission of instructor G (Spring; second half of term) 1-2-3 units

Practical work in a spacecraft laboratory environment, including learning about cleanroom environments, satellite integration, and testing. Topics include handling of electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitive electronics, working in a cleanroom, performing spacecraft component and qualification testing using shaker tables to simulate launch and deployment loads, thermal and vacuum testing, and designing and executing a successful spacecraft/instrument test campaign. Emphasis on obtaining laboratory data from sensors such as accelerometers, thermal sensors, and small satellite hardware, and comparing expected results against actual behaviors. Students carry out exercises in small teams and submit digital laboratory reports.

R. A. Masterson

16.855[J] Systems Architecting Applied to Enterprises

Same subject as EM.429[J] , IDS.336[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

See description under subject IDS.336[J] .

16.857[J] Asking How Space Enabled Designs Advance Justice and Development

Same subject as MAS.858[J] Prereq: None G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

See description under subject MAS.858[J] . Limited to 15.

16.858 Introduction to Discrete Math and Systems Theory for Engineers

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Fall) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

General discrete math topics include mathematical reasoning, combinatorial analysis, discrete structures (sets, permutations, relations, graphs, trees, and finite state machines), algorithmic thinking and complexity, modeling computation (languages and grammars, finite state machines), and Boolean algebra. Emphasis is on the use of the basic principles to solve engineering problems rather than applying formulae or studying the theoretical mathematical foundations of the topics. Real aerospace engineering examples are used. Enrollment may be limited.

N. Leveson, O. de Weck, J. Thomas

16.861 Engineering Systems Analysis for Design

Engineering School-Wide Elective Subject. Offered under: 1.146 , 16.861 , EM.422 , IDS.332 Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units Credit cannot also be received for EM.423[J] , IDS.333[J]

See description under subject IDS.332 . Enrollment limited.

R. de Neufville

16.863[J] System Safety Concepts

Same subject as IDS.340[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Covers important concepts and techniques in designing and operating safety-critical systems. Topics include the nature of risk, formal accident and human error models, causes of accidents, fundamental concepts of system safety engineering, system and software hazard analysis, designing for safety, fault tolerance, safety issues in the design of human-machine interaction, verification of safety, creating a safety culture, and management of safety-critical projects. Includes a class project involving the high-level system design and analysis of a safety-critical system. Enrollment may be limited.

16.88[J] Prototyping our Sci-Fi Space Future: Designing & Deploying Projects for Zero Gravity Flights

Same subject as MAS.838[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) 2-2-8 units

See description under subject MAS.838[J] . Enrollment limited; admission by application.

J. Paradiso, A. Ekblaw

16.885 Aircraft Systems Engineering

Holistic view of the aircraft as a system, covering basic systems engineering, cost and weight estimation, basic aircraft performance, safety and reliability, life cycle topics, aircraft subsystems, risk analysis and management, and system realization. Small student teams retrospectively analyze an existing aircraft covering: key design drivers and decisions; aircraft attributes and subsystems; operational experience. Oral and written versions of the case study are delivered. Focuses on a systems engineering analysis of the Space Shuttle. Studies both design and operations of the shuttle, with frequent lectures by outside experts. Students choose specific shuttle systems for detailed analysis and develop new subsystem designs using state of the art technology.

R. J. Hansman, W. Hoburg

16.886 Air Transportation Systems Architecting

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 3-2-7 units

Addresses the architecting of air transportation systems. Focuses on the conceptual phase of product definition including technical, economic, market, environmental, regulatory, legal, manufacturing, and societal factors. Centers on a realistic system case study and includes a number of lectures from industry and government. Past examples include the Very Large Transport Aircraft, a Supersonic Business Jet and a Next Generation Cargo System. Identifies the critical system level issues and analyzes them in depth via student team projects and individual assignments. Overall goal is to produce a business plan and a system specifications document that can be used to assess candidate systems.

16.887[J] Technology Roadmapping and Development

Same subject as EM.427[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Provides a review of the principles, methods and tools of technology management for organizations and technologically-enabled systems including technology forecasting, scouting, roadmapping, strategic planning, R&D project execution, intellectual property management, knowledge management, partnering and acquisition, technology transfer, innovation management, and financial technology valuation. Topics explain the underlying theory and empirical evidence for technology evolution over time and contain a rich set of examples and practical exercises from aerospace and other domains, such as transportation, energy, communications, agriculture, and medicine. Special topics include Moore's law, S-curves, the singularity and fundamental limits to technology. Students develop a comprehensive technology roadmap on a topic of their own choice.

O. L. de Weck

16.888[J] Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

Same subject as EM.428[J] , IDS.338[J] Prereq: 18.085 or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-1-8 units

Systems modeling for design and optimization. Selection of design variables, objective functions and constraints. Overview of principles, methods and tools in multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO). Subsystem identification, development and interface design. Design of experiments (DOE). Review of linear (LP) and non-linear (NLP) constrained optimization formulations. Scalar versus vector optimization problems. Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions of optimality, Lagrange multipliers, adjoints, gradient search methods, sensitivity analysis, geometric programming, simulated annealing, genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization. Constraint satisfaction problems and isoperformance. Non-dominance and Pareto frontiers. Surrogate models and multifidelity optimization strategies. System design for value. Students execute a term project in small teams related to their area of interest. 

16.89[J] Space Systems Engineering

Same subject as IDS.339[J] Prereq: 16.842 , 16.851 , or permission of instructor G (Spring) 4-2-6 units

Focus on developing space system architectures. Applies subsystem knowledge gained in 16.851 to examine interactions between subsystems in the context of a space system design. Principles and processes of systems engineering including developing space architectures, developing and writing requirements, and concepts of risk are explored and applied to the project. Subject develops, documents, and presents a conceptual design of a space system including a preliminary spacecraft design.

16.891 Space Policy Seminar

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) 2-0-4 units

Explores current and historical issues in space policy, highlighting NASA, DOD, and international space agencies. Covers NASA's portfolios in exploration, science, aeronautics, and technology. Discusses US and international space policy. NASA leadership, public private partnerships, and innovation framework are presented. Current and former government and industry leaders provide an "inside the beltway perspective." Study of Congress, the Executive, and government agencies results in weekly policy memos. White papers authored by students provide policy findings and recommendations to accelerate human spaceflight, military space, space technology investments, and space science missions. Intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates interested in technology policy. Enrollment may be limited.

D. J. Newman, D. E. Hastings

16.893 Engineering the Space Shuttle

Prereq: None Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 4-0-8 units

Detailed historical and technical study of the Space Shuttle, the world's first reusable spacecraft, through lectures by the people who designed, built and operated it. Examines the political, economic and military factors that influenced the design of the Shuttle; looks deeply into the it's many subsystems; and explains how the Shuttle was operated. Lectures are both live and on video. Students work on a final project related to space vehicle design.

J. A. Hoffman

16.895[J] Engineering Apollo: The Moon Project as a Complex System

Same subject as STS.471[J] Prereq: None Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Fall) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 4-0-8 units

See description under subject STS.471[J] .

Computation

16.90 computational modeling and data analysis in aerospace engineering.

Prereq: 16.001 , 16.002 , 16.003 , 16.004 , or permission of instructor; Coreq: 6.3700 or 16.09 U (Spring) 4-0-8 units

Introduces principles, algorithms, and applications of computational techniques arising in aerospace engineering. Techniques include numerical integration of systems of ordinary differential equations; numerical discretization of partial differential equations; probabilistic modeling; and computational aspects of estimation and inference. Example applications will include modeling, design, and data analysis.

16.901 Topics in Computation

Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring; second half of term) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged

Provides credit for undergraduate-level work in computation outside of regularly scheduled subjects. Intended for transfer credit and study abroad. Credit may be used to satisfy specific degree requirements in the Course 16 program. Requires prior approval. Consult M. A. Stuppard.

16.910[J] Introduction to Modeling and Simulation

Same subject as 2.096[J] , 6.7300[J] Prereq: 18.03 or 18.06 G (Fall) 3-6-3 units

See description under subject 6.7300[J] .

16.920[J] Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations

Same subject as 2.097[J] , 6.7330[J] Prereq: 18.03 or 18.06 G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Covers the fundamentals of modern numerical techniques for a wide range of linear and nonlinear elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic partial differential and integral equations. Topics include mathematical formulations; finite difference, finite volume, finite element, and boundary element discretization methods; and direct and iterative solution techniques. The methodologies described form the foundation for computational approaches to engineering systems involving heat transfer, solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, and electromagnetics. Computer assignments requiring programming.

16.930 Advanced Topics in Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations

Prereq: 16.920[J] Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Spring) 3-0-9 units

Covers advanced topics in numerical methods for the discretization, solution, and control of problems governed by partial differential equations. Topics include the application of the finite element method to systems of equations with emphasis on equations governing compressible, viscous flows; grid generation; optimal control of PDE-constrained systems; a posteriori error estimation and adaptivity; reduced basis approximations and reduced-order modeling. Computer assignments require programming.

16.940 Numerical Methods for Stochastic Modeling and Inference

Prereq: ( 6.3702 and 16.920[J] ) or permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: G (Fall) Acad Year 2024-2025: Not offered 3-0-9 units

Advanced introduction to numerical methods for treating uncertainty in computational simulation. Draws examples from a range of engineering and science applications, emphasizing systems governed by ordinary and partial differential equations. Uncertainty propagation and assessment: Monte Carlo methods, variance reduction, sensitivity analysis, adjoint methods, polynomial chaos and Karhunen-Loève expansions, and stochastic Galerkin and collocation methods. Interaction of models with observational data, from the perspective of statistical inference: Bayesian parameter estimation, statistical regularization, Markov chain Monte Carlo, sequential data assimilation and filtering, and model selection.

Other Graduate Subjects

16.thg graduate thesis.

Prereq: Permission of department G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Program of research leading to an SM, EAA, PhD, or ScD thesis; to be arranged by the student with an appropriate MIT faculty member, who becomes thesis supervisor. Restricted to students who have been admitted into the department.

16.971 Practicum Experience

Prereq: None G (Fall, IAP, Spring, Summer) Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

For Course 16 students participating in curriculum-related off-campus experiences in aerospace engineering and related areas. Before enrolling, a student must have an offer from a company or organization; must identify an appropriate supervisor in the AeroAstro department who, along with the off-campus supervisor, evaluate the student's work; and must receive prior approval from the AeroAstro department. At the conclusion of the training, the student submits a substantive final report for review and approval by the MIT supervisor. Can be taken for up to 3 units. Contact the AeroAstro Graduate Office for details on procedures and restrictions.

Consult B.Marois

16.980 Advanced Project

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Study, original investigation, or lab project work level by qualified students. Topics selected in consultation with instructor. Prior approval required.

16.981 Advanced Project

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, IAP, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Study, original investigation, or lab project work by qualified students. Topics selected in consultation with instructor. Prior approval required.

16.984 Seminar

Prereq: None G (Fall, IAP, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 2-0-0 units Can be repeated for credit.

Discussion of current interest topics by staff and guest speakers. Prior approval required. Restricted to Course 16 students.

16.985[J] Global Operations Leadership Seminar

Same subject as 2.890[J] , 10.792[J] , 15.792[J] Prereq: None G (Fall, Spring) 2-0-0 units Can be repeated for credit.

See description under subject 15.792[J] . Preference to LGO students.

16.990[J] Leading Creative Teams

Same subject as 6.9280[J] , 15.674[J] Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, Spring) 3-0-6 units

See description under subject 6.9280[J] . Enrollment limited.

D. Nino, J. Wu

16.995 Doctoral Research and Communication Seminar

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, Spring) 2-0-1 units

Presents fundamental concepts of technical communication. Addresses how to articulate a research problem, as well as the communication skills necessary to reach different audiences. The primary focus is on technical presentations, but includes aspects of written communication. Students give two technical talks during the term, and provide oral and written feedback to each other. Enrollment may be limited.

16.997 How To Do Excellent Research

Prereq: Permission of instructor Acad Year 2023-2024: Not offered Acad Year 2024-2025: G (Fall) 1-0-2 units

Presents and discusses skills valuable for starting research in the department, including time management; reading, reviewing, and writing technical papers; how to network in a research setting, how to be effective in a research group, and how to get good mentoring. In-class peer review is expected. Students write a final paper on one or more of the class topics. Enrollment is limited.

D. E. Hastings

16.999 Teaching in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Prereq: None G (Fall, Spring) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

For qualified students interested in gaining teaching experience. Classroom, tutorial, or laboratory teaching under the supervision of a faculty member. Enrollment limited by availability of suitable teaching assignments. Consult department.

16.S198 Advanced Special Subject in Mechanics and Physics of Fluids

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, Spring; second half of term) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Organized lecture or laboratory subject consisting of material not available in regularly scheduled fluids subjects. Prior approval required.

16.S199 Advanced Special Subject in Mechanics and Physics of Fluids

16.s298 advanced special subject in materials and structures.

Organized lecture or laboratory subject consisting of material not available in regularly scheduled materials and structures subjects. Prior approval required.

16.S299 Advanced Special Subject in Materials and Structures

Consult B. L. Wardle

16.S398 Advanced Special Subject in Information and Control

Organized lecture or laboratory subject consisting of material not available in regularly scheduled subjects. Prior approval required.

16.S399 Advanced Special Subject in Information and Control

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

16.S498 Advanced Special Subject in Humans and Automation

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

16.S499 Advanced Special Subject in Humans and Automation

16.s598 advanced special subject in propulsion and energy conversion, 16.s599 advanced special subject in propulsion and energy conversion, 16.s798 advanced special subject in flight transportation, 16.s799 advanced special subject in flight transportation, 16.s890 advanced special subject in aerospace systems.

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (IAP; partial term) Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

M. A. Stuppard

16.S893 Advanced Special Subject in Aerospace Systems

Prereq: None G (Fall, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.

16.S896 Advanced Special Subject in Aerospace Systems

Consult Consult: M. A. Stuppard

16.S897 Advanced Special Subject in Aerospace Systems

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged

16.S898 Advanced Special Subject in Aerospace Systems

Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall, Spring) Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

Consult D. Miller

16.S899 Advanced Special Subject in Aerospace Systems

16.s948 advanced special subject in computation, 16.s949 advanced special subject in computation, 16.s982 advanced special subject.

Prereq: Permission of department G (Fall, IAP, Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged Can be repeated for credit.

16.S983 Advanced Special Subject

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Advancing Cancer Detection by Counting Tiny Blood-circulating Particles

New Method Has Potential to Detect Cancer at Earliest Stages

By Laurie Fickman — 713-743-8454

• Health and Medicine

A University of Houston researcher is reporting a new method to detect cancer which could make cancer detection as simple as taking a blood test. With a 98.7% accuracy rate, the method - which combines PANORAMA imaging with fluorescent imaging - has the potential to detect cancer at the earliest stage and improve treatment efficacy.

The remarkably precise method allows researchers to peer into nanometer-sized membrane sacs, called extracellular vesicles or EVs, that can carry different types of cargos, like proteins, nucleic acids and metabolites, in the bloodstream.  

When Wei-Chuan Shih, Cullen College of Engineering professor of electrical and computer engineering, and his team examined the number and cargo of small EVs inside patients with cancer and those without, their finding was remarkable.

“We observed differences in small EV numbers and cargo in samples taken from healthy people versus people with cancer and are able to differentiate these two populations based on our analysis of the small EVs,” reports Shih, in Nature Communications Medicine . “The findings came from combining two imaging methods – our previously developed method PANORAMA and imaging of fluorescence emitted by small EVs—to visualize and count small EVs, determine their size and analyze their cargo.” 

In 2020, Shih debuted the PANAROMA optical imaging technology, which uses a glass side covered with gold nano discs that allows users to monitor changes in the transmission of light and determine the characteristics of nanoparticles as small as 25 nanometers in diameter. PANORAMA takes its name from Plasmonic Nano-aperture Label-free Imaging (PlAsmonic NanO-apeRture lAbel-free iMAging), signifying the key characteristics of the technology.   

For this research, supported by the National Institutes of Health, it was a matter of counting the number of small EVs to detect cancer.    

“Using a cutoff of 70 normalized small EV counts, all cancer samples from 205 patients were above this threshold except for one sample, and for healthy samples, from 106 healthy individuals, all but three were above this cutoff, giving a cancer detection sensitivity of 99.5% and specificity of 97.3%,” said Shih.   

To further test the performance of the detection threshold of 70 normalized small EV counts in plasma, the team analyzed two independent sets of samples from stage I-IV or recurrent leiomyosarcoma/gastrointestinal stromal tumors and early-and-late-stage cholangiocarcinoma that were anonymously labeled and mixed in with healthy samples and achieved 100% accuracy.  

“With further optimization, our approach may be a useful tool for cancer detection screening in particular and provide insights into the biology of cancer and small EVs,” said Shih.   

His research team includes doctoral students Nareg Ohannesian and Mohammad Sadman Mallick, and collaborators Steven H. Lin, Simona F. Shaitelman, Chad Tang, Eileen H. Shinn, Wayne L. Hofstetter, Alexei Goltsov, Manal M. Hassan, Kelly K. Hunt, from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Shih and Lin founded Seek Diagnostics Inc. to commercialize this technology.  

Top Stories

May 22, 2024

The Neural Basis of Human Creativity

University of Houston neuroscientist Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, the pioneer of brain-machine interfaces, has been invited to speak and present emergent research on brain computer interfacing and artificial intelligence at the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit.

• Science, Energy and Innovation

May 21, 2024

University of Houston Graduate Students Selected for Prestigious U.S. Dept. of Energy Program

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science has chosen three University of Houston graduate students for its prestigious graduate research program. UH doctoral candidates Farzana Likhi, Caleb Broodo and Leonard Jiang were among 86 students from 31 states selected for Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program which provides world-class training and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources at DOE national laboratories.

May 15, 2024

With $5M NASA Grant, University of Houston to Open Aerospace Engineering Research Center

With a multi-million-dollar grant from NASA, the University of Houston will open an aerospace engineering research center to extend human presence on the moon and Mars for sustainable, long-term space exploration, development and utilization.

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Commencement 2024

School of engineering and schwarzman college of computing advanced degree ceremony.

On May 29, 2024, we gathered on Killian Court to celebrate graduates of master’s and doctoral programs in the MIT School of Engineering and Schwarzman College of Computing. Reshma Shetty PhD ‘08, co-founder, President, and COO of Ginkgo Bioworks, served as the guest speaker. Below are select photos from the ceremony.