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John McMasters . A Legacy of Sustaining Innovations in Biomimetic Aircraft Design and Engineering Education Alice Agogino, Mera Horne University of California at Berkeley Mudd Design Workshop VII May 29, 2009. Acknowledgements. Paul W. Dees
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John McMasters A Legacy of Sustaining Innovations in Biomimetic Aircraft Design and Engineering Education Alice Agogino, Mera Horne University of California at Berkeley Mudd Design Workshop VII May 29, 2009
Acknowledgements • Paul W. Dees “The Technical Legacy of Dr. John McMasters” • 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including The New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition • AIAA 2009-867
John’s Twin Professional Passions Education Airplanes • “Hobbies” • Paleontology • Archaeology • Cultural • anthropology • Cognitive • psychology Technical Workforce Development + Engineering Education (Reform) + Airplane Design (and Aerodynamics)
“I’m sure glad the hole isn’t in our end…”
Professor McMasters illustrates his famous brain-stapling technique in a seminar for compulsive thinkers “It’s all about thinking, dummy” -- A. Einstein “Thinking is the one skill that never becomes obsolete.” -- Paul B. MacCready “He had only one vanity, he thought he could glve advice better than any other person.” -- Mark Twain (writing about John McMasters) Thanks to Gary Larson The Far Side
A Cosmic View of Aviation History Neil goes to the Moon Mass extinction from space Future of The World Economy ? X Insects Dinosaurs Birds ?? Life Evolves On Earth Boeing Man Wright Bros. Solar System Formed Global climate change Big Bang Future of Earth ? ~ 300 million years of flight
The Wonders of Bird Flight Thanks to Sharon Finn
Tandem Wing Fliers Microraptor gui Northern China 125 Mya Rutan “Proteus” (circa the present) www.scaled.com 77 cm (~ 30 in.) V Ref. Xu, et al., Nature, Vol.421, 23 January 2003, pp. 335-40. A feathered analog to a flying squirrel?
Some scientist' once proved that bees can't fly...? • In 1934 André Sainte-Laguë compared a bee to an aeroplane of similar size, and was based on the assumption that bees wings were more-or-less smooth, flat plates. The resulting calculations not surprisingly 'proved' the bee to be incapable of flight. But, of course, and crucially, bees' wings are far from flat. • As McMasters said in 1989: The assumptions were almost wildly wrong, and the [scientist] himself later discovered part of his error by examining a bee's wing under a microscope — but not, alas, before the myth was born in the hands of overeager journalists. Scientific American (McMasters, J. H. 1989)
John the free thinker debating on how the alula of a bird works (1970s vintage)
“Please Professor McMasters, may I be excused. My brain is full.”
Speaking as a designer committedto building a better future through strategic technical workforce development… Up the value chain to business success Extinction Propithecus sp. Homo habilis Homo erectus Homo sapiens Homo boeingensis Homo sapiens faber With thanks to Prof. Larry Leifer, Center for Design Research, Stanford University, 2002
The Well-Rounded EngineerKnowledge of Many Skills with Career Choices Based on Talent, Ability, Interest and Ambitions Designers System Architects Technical Subject Matter Experts • Foundational • Technical Skills • Math • Science • Analysis • Computing • Engineering • Skills • Design • Systems • synthesis Note: Many of the jobs shown here are difficult to “outsource” or “mechanize” out of existence. System Integrators Process Engineers • Professional • Skills • Communications • Team Work • Networking • Interpersonal • Business • Skills And • Acumen • Cost accounting • Scheduling • Planning Program Managers General knowledge (liberal arts, humanities, etc.) and life experience Customer and Service Engineers Marketing
Our Engineering Education System and Thus Our Technical Workforce Pipeline Under Stress There are several important disconnects Societal Concern Industry concern Company concern K-12 System Professional Practice/ Industry Needs College/University Engineering Programs • Tradition bound • Slow rate of change • Costs rapidly escalating • Heavy dependence on funded • research • Failure to attract/retain • women and minorities • Inadequate sense of urgency • Rapid, continuous change • in practice • Changing priorities • Globalization • Aging workforce and lose • of experience base • Societal change • Declining standards • Decreasing interest in • science and math Our future supply of engineering talent is threatened and we in industry must pay part of the “taxes” needed to fix the problem.
A Puzzle for Engineering Academe: • Get research funding ! • Support labs and students • Publish, publish, publish Puzzles • Research $$ available • (from where, for what?) • Faculty talent and • interests • Curricula • Jobs (potentially and • actually available) Give me students who can do my work Department Program Faculty Teach (and look for talent) Graduate curriculum Students A good alignment too seldom exists and needs to be established Under Graduate curriculum Employers Give me grads who can do my work. Education JOBS !!
Roadblocks to Change • The “faculty reward system” (more than just tenure) • Driven by research and associated prestige • What incentives to devote effort to undergraduate teaching? • The industry “reward system” • Driven by near-term needs for business (and career) success • What career incentives to devote effort to “university relations”? • General lack of communication and shared common vision • A lot of “runners out for a pass”, with limited vision of the future • Ignorance of industry needs from a university perspective • Little understanding of faculty needs and constraints in industry • Industry and university time scales for change or action are very different - causes major gaps between expectations and realization
Hooking Kids on Science and Engineering Physical Sciences • “Technical” Hooks • Airplanes • Rockets • Astronomy • Cars • Dinosaurs • Birds • Bugs • Plants &Gardening • Computers • Etc. Engineering Information Technology Physics Chemistry And business, law, etc. Engineering Biomechanics Bridge Biology Ecology Kid’s can do math Biological Sciences & Medicine K-8 High School – College Careers
Engineering Isn’t Just “Applied Science” Engineering is about applying knowledge (in a systems sense) from a broad range of disciplines (including mathematics, science, economics and information technology) to create products, services and processes that meet societal needs and enhance the quality of life. Technical Problems Humanities & Liberal Arts “Why” Science “What” Engineering “How” • Understanding • Human and societal needs • Ethics • Compassion • Understanding • Facts and data • Tools & techniques • Possibilities and • opportunities “Society’s Technical Problem Solvers” [Desired image of the 21st Century Engineer] Solutions (products, services, etc.) of Value to Society
“I don’t know why people are so frightened by new ideas. It’s the old ones that frighten me.” John Cage American composer “O you who love clear edges more than anything……watch the edges that blur.” Adrienne Rich American poet
Reflections on a Very Long Career in Aeronautics • The importance of having a vivid “vision” of the future. • The value of mentors, role models and networking. • Developing and holding a “systems perspective”. • Design is not only the essence of engineering; it is a "life skill”.
