Worcester Polytechnic Institute Research Articles

Organization and function of a hospital biomedical engineering internship program.

This paper describes the development of an internship program between St. Vincent Hospital (SVH), a large community teaching hospital, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), a school of engineering. The primary objective of the internship program is the education of the student through problem solving in the hospital environment under close faculty-physician supervision. WPI receives an expanded educational base, and SVH receives a diversified base of technical assistance. During the last three years of operation 70 students, 12 faculty, and 15 hospital project advisors have worked together on 29 different student projects. The organization and operation of the internship program are presented, and the essential features leading to its success are analyzed.

For the Technological Humanist: The WPI Plan

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, in Worcester, Mass., is currently involved in an innovative campus-wide program for undergraduate education. It is individually structured, studentcentered, project-oriented, with strong components in the social sciences and the humanities. WPI plan seeks to graduate a new breed of professional: an individual who works creatively with specialists from other disciplines and has a wide awareness of the larger world of humanity. These are the characteristics an effective scientist or engineer in the last quarter of the twentieth century should have. In the life sciences, in addition, WPI graduates must have a strong quantitative background in physics and chemistry and a sound working familiarity with modern instrumentation. James F. Danielli, head of the team which three years ago successfully reassembled a living, reproducing cell from dissociated components of differing amoeba species, came to WPI this fall to take over its new department of life sciences because, he says, The WPI plan offers me the natural environment to pursue the new undergraduate life science education I have long wanted to get into. WPI has managed to move into this new kind of life science education swiftly, for two reasons. As an engineering institution, it is by nature instrumentation oriented and equipped. Our undergraduate life science students have access, for example, to such advanced equipment as a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, and two major computers. But the principal reason is the WPI plan itself. Under the plan, students bear the central responsibility for learning. With close faculty guidance, they design their curricula to match their own goals and interests. There are no required courses; each student puts together the right mix of courses to work toward an individual goal of his own choice.

AMERICAN RELIGIOUS HISTORY

Journal Article AMERICAN RELIGIOUS HISTORY Get access Protestant-Catholic Relations in America: World War I through Vatican II. By LEROND CURRY. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1972. xi+124. pages. $7.25 hb. L.C. No. 79-183352. JO ANN MANFRA JO ANN MANFRA Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Department of History Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Volume XLII, Issue 3, September 1974, Pages 562–564, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/XLII.3.562 Published: 01 September 1974

Letter to the Editor

Journal Article Letter to the Editor Get access Alvin H. Weiss, Alvin H. Weiss Professor Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar R. D. Partridge R. D. Partridge Worcester Polytechnic Institute Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Chromatographic Science, Volume 10, Issue 2, February 1972, Page 31A, https://doi.org/10.1093/chromsci/10.2.31A Published: 01 February 1972

Clean air car race—The Worcester Gremlin KVA-SST

On August 24, 1970, 42 low-emission vehicles left M.I.T. on the first leg of the Clean Air Car Race. Seven days later, 35 of the cars had crossed the finish line at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. In the electric-hybrid category, two vehicles tied for first place--the University of Toronto and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute entries. The WPI car, which used an internal-combustion engine running on unleaded gas in combination with a battery-powered drive system, my have tied, but its success was in some ways a Pyrrhic victory: the solid-state controller burned out at least twice, a stepping resistor that was substituted for the controller caused a fire on the second day of the race, the heat sinks on the rectifiers overheated during the desert crossing, and the electric motor was not powerful enough to drive the car up steep grades. Nevertheless, the race proved that cleaner cars are feasible. The next step is up to government and industry. With luck, legislation now pending may curb most automotive pollutants by the mid-seventies.

A Summer Graduate Program for Electrical Engineering Faculty Members

Few formal programs have been developed with the specific goals of enabling faculty members to further their education in new and developing technical areas and to work towards advanced degrees in a planned sequence of summer courses. A summer graduate program for electrical engineering teachers was instituted in 1962 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute as a result of many months of discussion in the ASEE Division of Electrical Engineering of how best to serve a critical continuing education need of faculty members, particularly in the smaller and sometimes isolated engineering schools of the nation. In six years of operation, the summer graduate program has enrolled 91 students from 71 different schools in 31 states, Puerto Rico, and five foreign countries. Many participants had no specific degree goals. However, in this period six have completed M. S. degrees and seven have earned a Ph.D. degree. Twelve additional faculty members are well along on their doctoral programs. Most doctoral students spend at least a year on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus doing their research, although provisions are made for their research to be done at their own schools in some cases. The upgrading accomplished by the program is evident from the jobs many of the participants accepted at the completion of their programs. The summer program is beginning to attract increasing numbers of participants from technically oriented junior colleges. The program concept is applicable to faculty members in most or all engineering disciplines.

Pioneer Class: Sketches of the Lives of All Members of the Class of 1871 of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Pioneer Class: Sketches of the Lives of All Members of the Class of 1871 of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:Introduction to Finite Mathematics, Second Edition, by John G. Kemeny, Professor of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, J. Laurie Snell, Professor of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, Gerald L. Thompson, Professor of Mathematics and Industrial Administration, Carnegie Institute of TechnologyModern Introductory Mathematics, by Wendell G. Johnson, Dean of the College and Professor of Mathematics/Hiram College and Luke N. Zaccaro, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Do We Need a Forum for Research Philosophy

Previous article Next article Do We Need a Forum for Research PhilosophyArthur BronwellArthur Bronwellhttps://doi.org/10.1137/1003047PDFBibTexSections ToolsAdd to favoritesExport CitationTrack CitationsEmail SectionsAbout Previous article Next article FiguresRelatedReferencesCited ByDetails Volume 3, Issue 3| 1961SIAM Review211-292 History Submitted:11 January 1961Published online:18 July 2006 InformationCopyright © 1961 Society for Industrial and Applied MathematicsPDF Download Article & Publication DataArticle DOI:10.1137/1003047Article page range:pp. 256-259ISSN (print):0036-1445ISSN (online):1095-7200Publisher:Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Electrical engineering education: AIEE in worcester polytechnic institute

Electrical engineering education: AIEE in worcester polytechnic institute

WHAT IS A NUCLEAR REACTOR?

Journal of the American Society for Naval EngineersVolume 70, Issue 2 p. 311-326 WHAT IS A NUCLEAR REACTOR? D. A. CARRISON, D. A. CARRISON Donald A. Carrison received a B. S. degree from the University of Illinois and did graduate work in Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was a Staff Member in Training at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology prior to joining the Director's Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Senior Physicist with a group investigating an advanced reactor concept. Since May of 1957, he has been a member of the senior staff of Aeronutronic Systems, Inc., a Ford Motor Co. subsidiary in Glendale, Calif.Search for more papers by this authorC. O. SMITH, C. O. SMITH Charles O. Smith received a B.S. in Mech. Eng. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a S. M. in Mech. Eng. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Sc.D. in Metallurgy from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served in the Navy during World War II in aviation maintenance. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, USNR, and is active in the reserve program of the Office of Naval Research. He has seven years teaching experience at WPI and MIT and was associated with Alcoa Research Laboratories for three and one-half years as a Research Engineer. He currently is Lecturer in Reactor Materials at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.Search for more papers by this author D. A. CARRISON, D. A. CARRISON Donald A. Carrison received a B. S. degree from the University of Illinois and did graduate work in Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was a Staff Member in Training at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology prior to joining the Director's Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Senior Physicist with a group investigating an advanced reactor concept. Since May of 1957, he has been a member of the senior staff of Aeronutronic Systems, Inc., a Ford Motor Co. subsidiary in Glendale, Calif.Search for more papers by this authorC. O. SMITH, C. O. SMITH Charles O. Smith received a B.S. in Mech. Eng. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a S. M. in Mech. Eng. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Sc.D. in Metallurgy from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served in the Navy during World War II in aviation maintenance. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, USNR, and is active in the reserve program of the Office of Naval Research. He has seven years teaching experience at WPI and MIT and was associated with Alcoa Research Laboratories for three and one-half years as a Research Engineer. He currently is Lecturer in Reactor Materials at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.Search for more papers by this author First published: May 1958 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1958.tb05890.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume70, Issue2May 1958Pages 311-326 RelatedInformation

MATERIALS PROBLEMS IN NUCLEAR REACTORS

Journal of the American Society for Naval EngineersVolume 69, Issue 1 p. 37-44 MATERIALS PROBLEMS IN NUCLEAR REACTORS C. O. SMITH, C. O. SMITH THE AUTHOR received a B. S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1941, an S. M. in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1947 and a Sc. D. in Metallurgy from M. I. T. in 1951. He served in the Navy during World War II in aviation maintenance. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, USNR, and is active in the reserve program of the Office of Naval Research. He has seven years teaching experience at WPI and MIT and was associated with Alcoa Research Laboratories for three and one-half years. He currently is Lecturer in Reactor Materials at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology.Search for more papers by this author C. O. SMITH, C. O. SMITH THE AUTHOR received a B. S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1941, an S. M. in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1947 and a Sc. D. in Metallurgy from M. I. T. in 1951. He served in the Navy during World War II in aviation maintenance. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, USNR, and is active in the reserve program of the Office of Naval Research. He has seven years teaching experience at WPI and MIT and was associated with Alcoa Research Laboratories for three and one-half years. He currently is Lecturer in Reactor Materials at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology.Search for more papers by this author First published: February 1957 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1957.tb04045.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume69, Issue1February 1957Pages 37-44 RelatedInformation

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:The World of Numbers, by Dale Carpenter and others.The Private Life of the Protozoa, by Winifred Duncan.Biology in Review, by Phil R. Gilman and Vincent R. Peterson.First Algebra, by Virgil S. Mallory, Professor of Mathematics and Instructor in the College High School, State Teachers College, Montclair, New Jersey.General Mathematics, by Virgil S. Mallory, Professor of Mathematics, Head of the Department and Instructor in the College High School, State Teachers College, Montclair, New Jersey, and Kenneth C. Skeen, Vice Principal and Head of the Department of Mathematics, Union High School, Taft, California.The Physical Sciences (Revised Edition), by George S. Eby, Stockton Junior College, Stockton, California; Charles L. Waugh, Richmond Union High School, Richmond, California; Herbert E. Welch, Stockton Junior College, and Burdette H. Buckingham, Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University.Introductory Nuclear Physics, by David Halliday, University of Pillsburgh, 527 pages.Elements of Ordinary Differential Equations, by Michael Golomb, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Purdue University, and Merrill Shanks, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Aeronautical Engineering, Purdue University..Primer of College Mathematics, by John F. Randolph, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Mathematics, University of Rochester.Analytic Geometry and Calculus, by Harold J. Gay, Late Professor of Mathematics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, edited by Raymond K. Morley, Professor of Mathematics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Cloth.Elementary Theory of Equations, by Samuel Borofsky, Brooklyn College.Space and Geometry, by Aaron Bakst, School of Education, New York University.

Closure to “Discussions of ‘Calibrations of Six Beth-Flow Meters at Alden Hydraulic Laboratory, Worcester Polytechnic Institute’” (1950, Trans. ASME, 72, pp. 1102–1110)

Closure to “Discussions of ‘Calibrations of Six Beth-Flow Meters at Alden Hydraulic Laboratory, Worcester Polytechnic Institute’” (1950, Trans. ASME, 72, pp. 1102–1110)

Calibrations of Six Beth-Flow Meters at Alden Hydraulic Laboratory, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Abstract Six Beth-Flow tubes were calibrated by means of a volumetric tank at the Alden Hydraulic Laboratory to determine their suitability as flow-metering elements. Four of the six meters tested had practically the same coefficients with flow in either direction. The flow coefficients were constant above a Reynolds number of 100,000. Further tests are necessary to determine manufacturing tolerances and the effects of disturbed flow due to various types of piping arrangements.

The Franklin Institute: Medal Awards

THE following medals of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, were awarded on April 21: Franklin Medal and Honorary Membership to Prof. Harold C. Urey, professor of chemistry in Columbia University, for his discovery and production of heavy hydrogen, which has proved of immense importance in furthering research in chemistry, physics, and biology ; and to Dr. George Washington Pierce, for his development of “electrically squeezed” quartz crystals used to narrow the range of radio frequencies. The use of this principle in obtaining accurate oscillations has facilitated the construction of the most precise electric clocks. Elliot Gresson Medal to Prof. Charles M. Allen of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His contribution to the field of hydraulics is a more rapid method of measuring the flow of water by adding a known amount of salt to the water and noting the time required for it to pass electrodes inserted in the pipe lines down-stream.

Physics at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Physics at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Calorimetric method for determining efficiencies of electric machines : Victor Siegfred, Charles W. Thulin and senior students in electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute describe this method in Electrical Engineering, Vol. 61, No. 7

In this paper, a novel hybrid Firefly Algorithm and Pattern Search (hFA–PS) technique is proposed for Automatic Generation Control (AGC) of multi-area power systems with the consideration of Generation Rate Constraint (GRC). Initially a two area non-reheat thermal system with Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller is considered and the parameters of PID controllers are optimized by Firefly Algorithm (FA) employing an Integral Time multiply Absolute Error (ITAE) objective function. Pattern Search (PS) is then employed to fine tune the best solution provided by FA. The superiority of the proposed hFA–PS based PID controller has been demonstrated by comparing the results with some recently published modern heuristic optimization techniques such as Bacteria Foraging Optimization Algorithm (BFOA), Genetic Algorithm (GA) and conventional Ziegler Nichols (ZN) based PI/PID controllers for the same interconnected power system. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis is performed to show the robustness of the optimized controller parameters by varying the system parameters and operating load conditions from their nominal values. Finally, the proposed approach is extended to multi area multi source hydro thermal power system with/without considering the effect of physical constraints such as time delay, reheat turbine, GRC, and Governor Dead Band (GDB) nonlinearity. The controller parameters of each area are optimized under normal and varied conditions using proposed hFA–PS technique. It is observed that the proposed technique is able to handle nonlinearity and physical constraints in the system model.

Expansion of Facilities at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Expansion of Facilities at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Expansion of Facilities at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Expansion of Facilities at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute