OSU MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING E-BULLETIN
Issue #20
Week of March 6, 2006
Want to be part of the next
DARPA Grand Challenge?
A team called the Oregon WAVE, consisting of OSU students,
professors, and industry partners, has modified one of the SAE MiniBAJA racers
for autonomous control. In other words, we’ve created a car that drives
itself. Last year our vehicle was one of
197 entrants in the DARPA Grand Challenge, a 175-mile race across the California desert
sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. We were one of only
46 entrants to make it all the way to the National Qualifying Event. DARPA
has expressed interest in having another competition in 2007–08, this time for
a $3 million prize. We have a unique and competitive approach, and we’re
ready to try again. And to make this happen, we need YOU!
We're looking for graduate and undergraduate ME, EECS, and IME students
to volunteer and help make our robot the best in the world! If you're
interested, please come to our weekly meeting in the basement of Graf Hall. The
term, our meetings are Thursdays at 10 am. They’ll be rescheduled next
term, so please add yourself to the mailing list at http://lists.oregonstate.edu (grandchallenge).
Want to participate in a CS
study and get paid for it?
§
Are you a sophomore, junior, or senior not majoring in EECS?
§
Have you been using an email client (Webmail,
Outlook etc.) at least for the past one year?
§
Is your experience with computer science classes
limited to CS 162 or below?
§
Do you want to help shape the way computer use
might go in the future?
§
Do you want to get paid 20 bucks for your time?
If you can answer “Yes” to all of these
questions, you’re eligible to participate in a study being conducted by OSU student
and faculty researchers in Computer Science.
What
you’ll do: You will participate in one 1–2 hour session. During this
session your task will be reading and classifying emails and explaining your
work. Audio and video recording will be done while you explain your work. But
this data will be associated with a code number and will be destroyed once the data
analysis is done. Your identity will not be disclosed to anybody.
Where and
when: The study will be conducted in Kelley Engineering
Center room 2094.
Sessions will be held at the following times:
(1) Tuesday 03/07 4–6pm
(2) Wednesday 03/08 2–4pm
(3) Thursday 03/09 2–4 pm
(4) Thursday 03/09 5–
7pm
(5) Friday 03/10 2–
4pm
(6) Friday 03/10 6–8pm
(7) Monday 03/13 2–4pm
(8) Tuesday 03/14 4–6pm
(9) Wednesday 03/15 2–4pm
(10) Thursday 03/16 12–2pm
(11) Friday 03/17 2–4pm
(12) Friday 03/17 6p–8pm
To sign
up: email Vidya Rajaram at rajaramv@eecs.oregonstate.edu with the following information: (1) Your name, phone number,
and major; (2) how long you have been reading/writing emails; (3) whether English
is your native language (If not,
indicate the number of years you have been speaking English), and (4) which sessions listed above you are
willing to attend (please list all that fit your schedule. We will choose just one from your list and
get back to you).
UPCOMING EVENTS
This Week...
Monday,
March 6: Weekly Pi Tau Sigma Tutoring Session for
ENGR 211, 212,
213 students. 5–7
pm, Caliper Lounge (4th
floor of Rogers).
Monday, March 6: Engineers Without
Borders General Meeting, 6 pm in Apperson 101. Everyone is welcome! Come and bring a
friend.
AGENDA:
1. Evan Miles will present on his
participation in the EWB national conference
2. Blake Boren will present on the
"Minto Wheel" which may assist with pumping water efficiently and
inexpensively
3. Our main presenter is Steven
Myers, of the Pharaoh's Pump Foundation: Lecturer and antiquities scholar,
Steven Myers will be giving his presentation about how and why the Great
Pyramid was built. Steven Myers is the leading advocate of the
controversial but compelling theory that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built
using water locks and was constructed to be a monumental water
pump! He will describe his experiences in Egypt conducting research and his
work as the technical advisor to an upcoming TV documentary about the Great
Pyramid water pump. In his lecture, Myers emphasizes his research about the
ancient but high-technology of the Great Pyramid is not just esoteric but has
huge potential as an alternative energy source for our modern but very troubled
world. Myers has authored numerous magazine articles about the Great Pyramid
published around the globe and has been the guest on many late night radio talk
shows.He has also founded the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization called the
Pharaoh’s Pump Foundation and is finishing the manuscript for his upcoming
book.
4. We'll finish the evening
with an opportunity to hear from our nominees for next year's board members and
voting. We are still looking for a project manager and a webmaster. This is
your chance to be involved!
Tuesday,
March 7: Human-Powered Vehicle Team weekly
meeting, 4:45 in Graf 210.
Tuesday, March 7: Mini Baja Team weekly meeting, 5 pm
in the SAE shop (Rogers
132).
Tuesday, March 7: Engineers Without Borders special presentation, 6:30 pm in Apperson 101. Everyone
welcome! OSU Engineering alum Aaron Poresky will present on his trip to Las
Mercedes/El Naranjito in January. This is the community in El Salvador that we will be
visiting over spring break and, hopefully, be working with for a potable water
project in the near future. This presentation will be followed by a fundraising meeting that was originally
scheduled for Wednesday, March 8. We are starting to plan for next term's
fundraising opportunities. Please stay and see how you can participate.
Tuesday, March 7: Solar Vehicle Team weekly business/planning
meeting, 6:30 pm in MU 211.
Wednesday,
March 8: Microgravity Flight Team weekly meeting, 2-3 pm, basement of Graf Hall. (Look for the door with the
DARPA sticker.) If you’re interested in finding out more about the MGFT and
working on this year’s NASA research project,
please join us!
Tuesday,
March 7–Friday, March 10: OSU Conference on Gender and Culture. For a listing of events,
visit http://oregonstate.edu/womenscenter/conference.htm.
Wednesday,
March 8: Center for Teaching and Learning
Workshop for Faculty and Graduate Students Open Forum on Motivating Students. 12-1:30
pm in MU 213. Bring your lunch; no pre-registration required.
Thursday, March 9: Oregon WAVE weekly meeting, 10 am in
the basement of Graf (look for the DARPA sticker).
Thursday, March 9: Solar Vehicle Team machine shop work, 5 pm in WNGR 404.
Plan Ahead...
Tuesday,
March 14: Novellus Information
Session, 5:30 pm in Career
Services (basement of Kerr). For these
majors: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering, Computer Engineering.
Come and learn more about this employer and
their opportunities! Also, Novellus
is conducting On Campus Interviews on Wednesday,
March 15th starting at 8 am. To submit your resume, go first to the Career Services website at http://oregonstate.edu/career/ and search
for Novellus Systems, Inc. Please
visit http://www.Novellus.com for more
information.
FACULTY/GRADUATE SEMINARS
NO
Faculty/Grad Seminar this week.
Note: The most current ME Seminar
schedule and other OSU seminar information is available on the Rogers Hall
bulletin boards near the ME main office.
MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS
TO THIS YEAR’S RECORD-SETTING COHORT OF MECOP INTERNS! Seventy OSU
Mechanical Engineering students have been placed on a six-month MECOP
internships at 37 companies in the Northwest for Spring and Summer terms. This
placement is at or very close to our record placement for Spring/Summer 2001
and is the largest involvement of different companies in taking ME students.
Mechanical Engineering is the largest discipline in MECOP/CECOP and, counting
PSU’s ME students, placed 81 students total. This exceeds our previous record
placement of 75 students in 2001.
APPLICATIONS
FOR PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM ADMISSION, ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIPS AND MECOP/CECOP are
now available at: http://engr.oregonstate.edu/students/apps/. The deadline for all applications is April
10.
SPRING TERM REGISTRATION TIMES are posted on the bulletin
board in the hall beside the office of Dearborn
102. You can also access this information online at http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/services/registration/priority.htm
Career Services is offering a 2-credit course
during spring term: ALS 210: HOW TO BE
SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR INTERNSHIP SEARCH (2). This is an internship preparation
course designed to provide students with the fundamental tools to find and
secure an internship. Topics will include internship search strategies,
resumes, cover letters, and interviewing. Guest speakers and site visits will
provide additional insight into these topics from the perspective of employers
and students with prior internship experience. Reflection on student's
interests, values, and goals will also be integrated into the course. PREREQ:
None. Course meets: Thursdays, 3 - 4:50 PM. Everyone is welcome - there
are no prerequisites or over-qualification.
BOOKS FOR
ZIMBABWE.
So the OSU bookstore doesn’t want your used textbooks? The University of Zimbabwe
does. Engineers Without Borders – OSU is
a student group that organizes projects to improve the quality of life in
developing countries. Currently Engineers Without Borders is planning an
end-of-term book drive through Better World Books to provide the University of Zimbabwe with much-needed resources. Consider donating your used textbooks to
support this effort and impact literacy efforts worldwide. The book drive will run for two weeks, from
March 13th through March 24th. There will be collection bins in the
following locations: The Valley Library,
the MU Student Lounge, and the History Department.
SUMMER
2006 ENGINEERING CLASSES at Linn
Benton Community
College:
ENGR 201: Electrical Fundamentals: DC. June
26-July 28 (5 weeks). Lecture MWF 10:00-12:00
(BENTON CENTER: BC-244). Recitation UH
9:00-10:00 (BC 244). Lab UH 10:00-12:00 (BC-234)
ENGR 202: Electrical Fundamentals II: AC. July
31-September 1 (5 weeks). Lecture MWF 10:00-12:00
(BENTON CENTER: BC-244). Recitation UH
9:00-10:00 (BC-244). Lab UH 10:00-12:00 (BC-234).
ENGR 211: Statics. June 26-July 28 (5 weeks). Lecture MWF 1:00-3:00 (BENTON CENTER:
BC-244). Lecture UH 2:00-3:00 (BC-244). Recitation UH 1:00-2:00 (BC-244).
ENGR 212: Dynamics. July 31-September 1
(5 weeks). Lecture MWF 1:00-3:00
(BENTON CENTER: BC-244). Lecture UH 2:00-3:00
(BC-244). Recitation UH 1:00-2:00 (BC-244).
ENGR 213: Strength of Materials. July
31-September 1 (5 weeks). Lecture MWF 3:00-5:00
(BENTON CENTER: BC-244). Lecture UH 4:00-5:00
(BC-244). Recitation UH 3:00-4:00 (BC-244). Open enrollment for summer classes starts: June 5. Contact: Linn Benton
Community College or John
Sweet, 541-917-4624, john.sweet@linnbenton.edu.
INTERESTED
IN WORKING ON A PROJECT IN NICARAGUA
THIS SUMMER? 2006 Summer Studio: Nicaragua is a month-long service team
experience in the village of El Eden, Matagalpa,
Nicaragua.
Team members will help the villagers lay out a village "master
plan"—an exciting project in urban planning and appropriate
technology. For more information,
read the Summer Studio brochure at http://me.oregonstate.edu/news/bulletins/NicaraguaBROCHURE06.pdf. The application
form is available at http://me.oregonstate.edu/news/bulletins/NicaraguaApplication06.pdf. If you
want to talk with someone about this opportunity,
call or email Doug Haley, Resource
Development Associate at
Agros International,
206.528.1066 or dough@agros.org.
MACHINE
SHOP GUIDELINES. Sign-up sheets for the next week’s regular daytime machine-shop
hours and the Wednesday,
Thursday, and Saturday extended
hours are now posted each Friday. You can only sign up to use the lathes and
milling machines for one 2-hour block per day. You cannot block off
more than 2 hours at a time, even if
you are signing up for someone else. If,
at the end of your allotted 2 hours,
no one else has signed up for the next block of time,
you may sign up for that block of time. Also,
Senior Project, 383, Baja,
and Formula groups may only sign up for one machine per group per time
slot. This means if someone in your group is using a mill at 10 am,
the other members of your group are only allowed to use one lathe at the same
time.
BUILDING/EQUIPMENT SECURITY ALERT.
The ME department buildings and others in the college have been the recent
targets of many thefts. The state police have indicated that these recent
thefts have been directed at laptop computers,
which according to them are marketable for identify theft. In many of
these cases, the thieves have
spotted a laptop through an office or lab window and have then broken it out to
get at the items. Many of these occurrences have happened in the Thursday
night to Sunday period. Please be aware of anything unusual and report it
to campus security. Do not prop doors open after hours, and if you see doors propped open, please report it to the ME office. Be vigilant
about keeping doors locked and secure.
Did you
graduate Summer or Fall of 2005, or
are you graduating Winter or Spring of 2006? MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR
THE ME GRADUATION CEREMONY,
SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 4 - 6
P.M. This ceremony will be held in the Lasells Stewart
Center, and will include individual recognition of
each graduate. More information will be forthcoming.
NEW
SPRING ’06 GRADUATE COURSE OFFERING: ME 667 Computational Fluid Dynamics (Spring 06,
3 credits). Instructor: Dr. Sourabh V. Apte,
Department of Mechanical Engineering. This is an advanced graduate level course
dealing with numerical methods used in simulation of turbulent flows. It is
designed to understand and apply modern computational techniques to solve a
wide variety of fluid dynamics problems involving incompressible and
compressible flows. The course is intended for students from several
disciplines interested in development and application of numerical schemes to a
variety of problems involving fluid flows. Prerequisites include ME 560 or
ME565 or ME566 and ME575 or instructor’s approval.
UPDATE
ON MACHINE SHOP PROCEDURES: All students wishing to use the Lathe and
Milling machines must now use the machine sign-up sheets located on the inside
door of the ME shop. In addition,
all students who use the shop after hours should use the after-hours sign-up
sheet. These sheets provide an important record of Machine Shop use. Thanks!
ENGINEERING
COMPUTING SERVICES FACT SHEET now available. For the convenience of
engineering faculty who need information on our computing and networking
facilities for proposals, the
College has put together a "fact
