Circa 1962: Senior independent work and the importance of engineering in a liberal arts setting

By On September 14, 2010 · In Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, Keller Center, mechanical and aerospace, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Princeton’s Mudd library has posted a 1962 instructional film for students who were serving as campus tour guides.

At first what is striking about this film (above) is how much the Princeton undergraduate experience has changed in less than 50 years. For one, thing Princeton students are a much more cosmopolitan group, taking […]

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Solar powered airplane takes flight

By On June 14, 2010 · In mechanical and aerospace, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Seniors Nathan Buch, David Hegermiller, and Trevor O’Neill collaborated to create a solar-powered unmanned aircraft in order to demonstrate the feasibility of flight powered by solar energy alone.

In the video above, the plane — which has a wing span of 20 feet — flies the equivalent of about four stories high.

The construction of […]

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Satellite design class presents final project to JPL engineers

By On May 12, 2010 · In engineering education, mechanical and aerospace

Last week Jeremy Kasdin‘s satellite design class, MAE 342, took a little field trip — to Pasadena, California, where they presented their final project to Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers.

The students met with director Charles Elachi, toured JPL facilities, and "spent three hours in their integrated design […]

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David Karp ’10 wins Hertz Foundation fellowship

By On March 31, 2010 · In mechanical and aerospace

Senior David Karp, who is majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, has won a $250,000 no-strings-attached fellowship from the Hertz Foundation. His field of research? Computational fluid dynamics and the design optimization of scramjet-powered vehicles.

Karp plans to do his research at Stanford after studying in Britain on a

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Princeton researchers push the frontiers of next-generation fuels

By On March 24, 2010 · In Andlinger Center, energy, innovation, mechanical and aerospace

The current issue of PRISM magazine features the research of Chung "Ed" Law, who is the director of a  $20 million energy research center at Princeton whose mission is to spur the invention of new, cleaner fuels for the 21st century.

"Think the internal combustion engine is dead?" writes Charles Q […]

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Power generating silicone electrifies web

By On February 17, 2010 · In mechanical and aerospace

Power-generating rubber films developed by two Princeton engineers were covered by a gaggle of media — both new and old — in recent weeks.

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Technology-bearing camels wander the web

By On December 23, 2009 · In energy, mechanical and aerospace, PRISM

A number of media outlets have recently reported on a project spearheaded by Winston Soboyejo, a Princeton professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and colleagues, to develop camel-mounted, solar-powered refrigerators to carry medicines to parts of rural Africa.

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Debate about the intersection between poetry, mysticism, and science

By On December 10, 2009 · In computer science, mechanical and aerospace

Princeton’s Dean of the Faculty, David Dobkin, will join in a discussion this evening at Labyrinth Books on the intersection between poetry, mysticism, and science. Joining the conversation will be Scott McVay, founding director of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the poet J.C. Todd and the cultural philosopher William Irwin Thompson. […]

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Lex Smits on golf-ball dimples and other feats of fluid dynamics

By On December 1, 2009 · In mechanical and aerospace

Princeton Engineering’s Alexander Smits seems to have been popular among the media during the annual meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics, which took place last week in Minneapolis.

The Pioneer Press quotes Smits on the aerodynamics of […]

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Guardian pays tribute to pioneering materials scientist

By On November 30, 2009 · In mechanical and aerospace, PRISM

The Guardian newspaper pays tribute to Anthony Evans, "a world-leading materials scientist who pioneered the use of brittle materials in such wide-ranging applications as jet engines, space-shuttle tiles, silicon chips and vehicle armour." Evans, who has died at the age of 66 of cancer, was the author of more than 540 scientific publications […]

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