Graduate student James Ramsey has a framework for his Ph.D. thesis in physics thanks in part to an innovative program that links Washington University graduate students and engineering faculty with researchers at the Boeing Co.
Since the fall of 1998, Ramsey has been working with his thesis adviser and mentor, Christopher I. Byrnes, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, in an area that combines both physics and systems science. It's called nonlinear robust regulation and tracking, and it has applications for Boeing engineers, who hope Ramsey can design control schemes that will compensate for pilot-induced oscillations in Boeing aircraft.
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Ramsey, who hails from Washington, D.C., and earned a bachelor's degree in physics from American University, also is applying control theory in regulation of compressors on aircraft. This should help pilots avoid compressor stall, a dangerous situation that arises when a plane -- a fighter craft, for example -- flies toward a target at a particular angle that makes the compressor susceptible to stalling.
Much of the work will be a part of his thesis, which he hopes to complete in the spring. Also this spring, he will join 10 other University graduate students and their faculty and Boeing mentors at a formal colloquium where he will give an in-depth overview of his work.
In December, Boeing personnel, graduate students and faculty held their first formal meeting at a Whittemore House luncheon. The event allowed all involved to break both bread and the ice about a myriad of research projects sponsored by the Boeing-McDonnell Foundation.
After the luncheon, 11 graduate students, accompanied by their faculty mentors, gave brief presentations about research projects sponsored through the foundation. The projects range from materials research to computation and signal processing research.
Students work closely with faculty mentors and Boeing researchers, using facilities at the corporation's St. Louis headquarters in addition to University laboratories. The two-year projects began in 1998, in a collaboration that is expected to continue with other graduate students over the next six years. The goals are to forge a stronger industry/University partnership and facilitate technology transfer.
"This partnership is a major priority of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and it is something we've always wanted to do for our faculty and students," Byrnes said. "The Boeing Co. is a tremendous resource of knowledge and practical application for our graduate students, and we value their support greatly. This relationship can become a model for other universities and industries."
Allen R. Atkins, Ph.D., is a Boeing Co. vice president. He urged a continuation of the relationship between the two and closer ties in the future.
"Washington University offers a wonderful talent pool for industries such as Boeing, and we feel fortunate to be able to collaborate with the school of engineering," Atkins said. "We look forward to seeing Washington University faculty and students at our facilities and sharing as much as possible with them."
University faculty from the computer science, chemical and electrical engineering, and systems science and mathematics departments mentor the graduate students.
