Amy Bilton, Chelsea He, Dave Darmofal Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics MIT

1. Careers in Engineering:as told by three aerospace engineers(please don’t call us rocket scientists!)(we prefer rocket engineers!) • Amy Bilton, Chelsea He, Dave Darmofal • Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics • MIT

2. What is engineering? Engineering is: • Making an impact on the world through • Creative problem solving • Using technology

3. Top 20 Engineering Achievements • Highways • Spacecraft • Internet • Imaging • Household appliances • Health technologies • Petroleum and petrochemical technologies • Laser and fiber optics • Nuclear technologies • High-performance materials • Electrification • Automobile • Airplane • Water supply and distribution • Electronics • Radio and TV • Agricultural mechanization • Computers • Telephone • Air conditioning and refrigeration National Academy of Engineering (www.greatachievements.org)

4. Dave’s 8th grade • Grew up in Michigan • Played baseball, basketball, football, hockey • Played piano • Reading: especially fantasy and science fiction • Music: Boston, Foreigner, Journey, KISS, Led Zeppelin, U2, ... • Fishing • Huge Detroit Red Wings fan • Already started thinking I would like to teach

5. Dave’s high school • A lot of the same stuff from middle school • Played piano for a lot of choirs and musicals • Acted in school plays • Sang in school choir • Student government • Had a lot of fun! • Certain I wanted to teach science/math at college

6. Dave’s college • University of Michigan • Wanted to study either physics or some kind of engineering • Scholarships were available in engineering • Ended up in aerospace engineering mainly because of a love of planes and space • Earned money as a piano accompanist for music majors • Had a fantastic professor that really inspired me to study aerodynamics

7. U. of Michigan Aerospace Engineering (1986) • McDonnell-Douglas Helicopter (Summer intern, 1988) • U. of Michigan Aerospace Engineering (Bachelors degree) • McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft (Summer intern, 1989) • MIT Aeronautics & Astronautics (Masters and PhD, 1993) College to Now • Married, moved to Southfield, MI, worked at U. of Michigan as a research engineer (1993-1995) • Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M and Madison and Abigail were born (1995-1998) • Professor at MIT (1998-now)

8. What do I do? (Dave) • Teach classes in aerospace engineering for undergraduate and graduate students • Research new design methods to improve the fuel efficiency and reliability of airplanes • Advise graduate students to do this research • Lead efforts to improve the way we teach engineering at MIT and around the world

9. Amy’s 8th grade • Grew up on a farm in Ontario, Canada • Played baseball, basketball, figure skating, curling. • Huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan • Loved the outdoors and building things!

10. Amy’s high school • Went to high school in Petrolia, Ontario • Student government • Continued playing sports • Really got into computers and robotics • Interested in teaching • Ran tutoring program

11. Amy’s college • University of Toronto • Chose aerospace engineering because I loved airplanes and anything that flew. • REALLY got into engineering design. • Loved combining creativity with math and physics.

12. What do I do? • Currently in Field and Space Robotics Laboratory at MIT. Solar-Powered Water Desalination Systems Adaptable Mirror Systems Free-Flying Space Robotics Granite Table C02 Canister Measurement System Electronics SteerableMirror System Manipulator Arms Binary Actuators

13. Chelsea’s 8th grade • Grew up in Raleigh, NC • First got interested in aeronautics when visiting Wright Brothers Memorial • Played violin in school orchestra • Discovered interest in architecture • Favorite subject was math, especially geometry First flight of Wright Flyer I Dec 17, 1903 Wright Brothers Monument Kill Devil Hills, NC

14. Chelsea’s high school • High school & all-state orchestra • Quiz Bowl • Math competitions • Favorite subjects were physics and French • Wanted to become a doctor or biomedical engineer

15. Chelsea’s college • Duke University, Durham, NC • Biomedical engineering & mechanical engineering • Got REALLY into Duke basketball • Quiz Bowl • Continued studying French and architectural history • Undergraduate research advisor encouraged me to pursue AeroAstro 2005 Jeopardy! College Tournament Study Abroad Paris ‘06 London ‘07

16. Chelsea’s graduate school • PhD student in Aeronautics & Astronautics at MIT • Research in Aerospace Computational Design Lab • Studying methods for improving design of complex systems • Involved in a variety of student groups Boeing 787 Dreamliner Image Credit: Boeing Image FLYPMode military vehicle Image Credit: DARPA

17. Wind Tunnels & Computer Simulation

18. What do I love about my job? (Dave) • Opportunity to make an impact • Teaching • Flexibility • Independence • Learning environment • Great people • Exciting

19. What do I love about what I do? (Amy) • Work in a collaborative environment • “Mens et Manus” • Make and impact • Learning • Teaching • Creativity • Freedom

20. What do I love about what I do? (Chelsea) • Tackle challenging problems • Work in teams • Meet new people (from many countries!) • Always learning new things

21. Wrap Up • Engineering is about making an impact through creative problem solving using technology • Teaching is a very rewarding career • You never know were life will take you • There are difficult times in all careers: follow your passions

22. QUESTIONS?