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AME - Department Seminar
Wed, Oct 31, 2012 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Geoff Spedding , Professor and Chairman of the Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Southern California
Talk Title: Bird Design and Aircraft Evolution
Abstract: Alternative flying machines (in the sense that they differ from our usual designs) can be invented, or studied. In all cases, it is reasonable to wonder whether a particular design is optimal, or perhaps what it is optimal for. Definitions of optimality quickly become complex: "minimum drag:lift ratio for n passengers that allows our company to outcompete our rival(s)" or "something that can be grown fast, still works when 50% of the aft surfaces are missing, and that fits in a nest." We will consider two examples of flying devices, one evolved and one invented, and we will look for parallels that exist between them, or perhaps ought to.
More Info: http://ae-www.usc.edu/seminars/10-31-12-spedding.shtml
Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - Room 150
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ae-www.usc.edu/seminars/10-31-12-spedding.shtml
