Preflight Testing System for an Optical Sensors Payload

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory High Power Missile Alternative Range Target Instrument program will test an Optical Sensor Module (OSM) payload onboard an expendable rocket. This project presents the design of a mechanical system and the procedures for the preflight testing of the OSM payload. The system includes a support structure that rotates the OSM under an attached optics bar that excites the OSM sensors. Analysis of the light sources and collection optics used on the optics bar is presented. Finite element heat transfer analysis provides the effects on the optics bar and the OSM due to heat from the lights, and establishes the heat-safety procedures during testing. Finite element structural analysis provides the static and dynamics response of the testing system

EduVentures WebExpedition

This project, sponsored by EduVentures and the National Museum of Namibia, sought to increase Namibian secondary students' awareness of biodiversity by creating and deploying a computer game called WebExpedition. We received input from teachers and students to optimize the game's usefulness and effectiveness, and performed trial runs with Namibian students. The game teaches students about scientific classification of organisms, and allows students to connect animals and plants to their habitats in Namibia