Remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft are increasingly being used in scientific research, agriculture, disaster mitigation and national defense. These small and efficient aircraft offer major environmental benefits while, at the same time, raise complex ethical and policy issues. This seminar introduces the rapidly growing field of aerial vehicle design and low-Reynolds number aerodynamics through a major project in which students design, fabricate and test a remotely piloted aircraft. Prerequisites: EGR 374, CSC 111, and either EGR 220 or CSC 270. Enrollment limited to 12 students.

Acoustics describes sound transmission through solids and fluids; the focus of this course is sound transmission through air. This seminar provides an overview of the fundamentals of acoustics, including derivation of the acoustic wave equation, the study of sound wave propagation (plane and spherical waves), the study of sound transmission through pipes, waveguides, and resonators impedance analogies, an overview of the acoustics related to the human auditory system and an introduction to room acoustics.

The atmosphere is among the most critically important parts of our environment. Atmospheric processes control our weather and climate, provide the nutrients for nearly all life on earth, and determine the quality of the air we breathe. This seminar explores key topics including atmospheric circulation, global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion and urban air pollution. How does ground-level ozone form and why is it harmful to people and agriculture? What are high-pressure systems and why are they associated with fair weather? How do clouds form and what impact do they have on our climate?

This is the first course in a two-semester sequence designed to introduce students to fundamental theoretical principles and analysis of mechanics of continuous media, including solids and fluids. Concepts and topics to be covered in this course include conservation laws, static and dynamic behavior of rigid bodies, analysis of machines and frames, internal forces, centroids, moment of inertia, vibrations and an introduction to stress and strain. Prerequisites: PHY 117, MTH 112 (or the equivalent). Required laboratory taken once a week. Enrollment limit of 20 students.

This is the first course in a two-semester sequence designed to introduce students to fundamental theoretical principles and analysis of mechanics of continuous media, including solids and fluids. Concepts and topics to be covered in this course include conservation laws, static and dynamic behavior of rigid bodies, analysis of machines and frames, internal forces, centroids, moment of inertia, vibrations and an introduction to stress and strain. Prerequisites: PHY 117, MTH 112 (or the equivalent). Required laboratory taken once a week. Enrollment limit of 20 students.

This is the first course in a two-semester sequence designed to introduce students to fundamental theoretical principles and analysis of mechanics of continuous media, including solids and fluids. Concepts and topics to be covered in this course include conservation laws, static and dynamic behavior of rigid bodies, analysis of machines and frames, internal forces, centroids, moment of inertia, vibrations and an introduction to stress and strain. Prerequisites: PHY 117, MTH 112 (or the equivalent). Required laboratory taken once a week. Enrollment limit of 20 students.

This course serves as an accessible course for all students, regardless of background or intent to major in engineering. Engineering majors are required to take EGR 100 for the major. Those students considering majoring in engineering are strongly encouraged to take EGR 100 in the fall semester. Students develop a sound understanding of the engineering design process, including problem definition, background research, identification of design criteria, development of metrics and methods for evaluating alternative designs, prototype development, and proof of concept testing.

Topics course. Computational biology is a rapidly emerging multidisciplinary field that uses techniques from computer science, applied mathematics and statistics to address problems inspired by biology. This seminar exposes students to a variety of topics of current interest in molecular computing and bioinformatics. The focus of the fall 2014 offering of this course is the biogoemetry of proteins. Proteins are the building blocks of life, as well as marvelous objects to study mathematically and computationally.

Topics include the core of the field: polygons, convex hulls, triangulations and Voronoi diagrams. Beyond this core, curves and surfaces, and polyhedral and configuration spaces are covered. Throughout, a dual emphasis is maintained on mathematical proofs and efficient algorithms. Students have a choice of concentrating their course work in mathematics or toward computer science. Prerequisite for MTH major credit: MTH 153, MTH 111 recommended. Prerequisite for CSC major credit: CSC 111.

An introduction to the functions of an operating system and their underlying implementation. Topics include file systems, CPU and memory management, concurrent communicating processes, deadlock, and access and protection issues. Programming projects will implement and explore algorithms related to several of these topics. Prerequisite: 231