In all, 91探花professors make up one-third of the 24 new members, who will be formally inducted in September during an annual meeting at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Elected by current members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences:

• , professor of environmental and occupational health sciences
• , associate dean for faculty affairs and professor in the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
• , professor of chemistry
• , professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate vice provost of research
• , professor and chair of mechanical engineering
• , professor of physics at the 91探花Institute for Nuclear Theory
• , professor of pharmacology and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences

Additionally, , professor of atmospheric sciences and of applied mathematics, was elected to the state academy by virtue of his election into the National Academy of Sciences.

Though many animals can move with more precision and accuracy than our best-engineered aircraft and technologies, gyroscopes are rarely found in nature. Scientists know of just one group of insects, the group including flies, that has something that behaves like a gyroscope 鈥� sensors called , clublike structures that evolved from wings.

Halteres provide information about the rotation of the body during flight, which helps flies perform aerial acrobatics and maintain stability and direction. But how do other insects without these sensors regulate flight dynamics, biologists have wondered?

91探花 research suggests that insects’ wings may also serve a gyroscopic function 鈥� a discovery that sheds new insight on natural flight and could help with developing new sensory systems in engineering.

Published in January in the , the research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. It was a key part of the successful proposal for an , a new 91探花center focused on understanding how elements in nature can inform the development of remotely controlled small aircraft.

“I was surprised at the results,” said Brad Dickerson, a graduate student in biology and co-author of the study. “This idea of wings being gyroscopes has existed for a long time, but this paper is the first to really address how that would be possible.”

and another 91探花graduate student, , conducted the research seeking to determine whether insects could use the bending of their wings to sense rotations of their bodies during flight. This could help explain how these master flyers are able to move with precision and speed.

The pair first developed a computational model of a flapping, flexing, rotating plate. To test their results, they built a robotic model using plastic sheeting mounted on a motor to simulate a flapping wing, then mounted that structure onto a second motor to rotate it.

They discovered that the model wing twisted when flapped and rotated around its base, causing changes in patterns of strain across the wing’s surface. The researchers believe that the strain might stimulate sensors embedded in the wing 鈥� suggesting that the wings of flying insects might, as halteres do, provide them with gyroscopic information.

Eberle, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and the paper’s corresponding author, said the results suggest that additional information about flight dynamics could be gleaned by embedding sensors onto the surface of manufactured wings. In turn, that knowledge could eventually help engineers design more efficient wings for structures such as micro air vehicles, helicopters and turbines.

But first, Eberle said, more research is needed to determine what relationship exists between animals’ wing flexibility and sensing capability.

“We don’t understand yet what those principles might be,” she said. “These are 10-year visions.”

The pair of researchers said they are excited about the opportunities that the new Air Force center offers to uncover biological principles and develop new bio-inspired designs.

Senior authors are , chair of the UW’s mechanical engineering department, and , a 91探花professor of biology and director of the new Air Force center.

The , located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the 91探花campus, will let students and faculty members work collaboratively with Boeing engineers on aircraft and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing. Four initial projects are underway at the UW, led by Boeing-employed affiliate instructors and 91探花engineering professors.

Boeing and the 91探花have a history of working together through teaching and research projects, but this is by far the closest the two have worked together, said , 91探花professor and chair of mechanical engineering and the center’s director.

“Having Boeing engineers here in the same physical space working with students and faculty is very exciting,” Reinhall said. “We get to have some of the most significant airplane manufacturing and design issues come through this lab. It supports an exciting new trend in education where students learn by doing, along with close interaction with industry.”

Leaders from the 91探花and Boeing formally launched the center with speakers and a tour of the facility Monday. Gov. Jay Inslee, 91探花President Michael K. Young and Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner were among those who attended and spoke.

“Both the 91探花 and The Boeing Company are tremendous drivers of innovation in Washington,” Inslee said. “Partnerships, like that being announced today through the formation of the Boeing Advanced Research Center, will ensure our students have the skills needed to compete and win in the future. I am excited to watch the next generation of aerospace leaders take flight here in Washington state.”

Under the initial two-year contract, Boeing will fund four projects that focus on automation, robotics, and aircraft assembly. The plan is to seek more funding to continue the center indefinitely and bring on more projects.

“We’re pleased to strengthen our long-standing partnership with the 91探花 and look forward to working side by side with students and faculty on the cutting-edge challenges of our industry,” Conner said. “It’s another example of how our investments in the Puget Sound are a win-win for the region and Boeing.聽When our community is strong, we are strong.”

The center is the brainchild of Jim Buttrick, a Boeing engineer and the center’s associate director, and 91探花professors Reinhall and . Buttrick received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the 91探花three decades ago. Several of his faculty collaborators were his professors then, and after many years of working in industry, Buttrick saw a good opportunity for students to gain practical experience and Boeing to benefit from more researchers on projects.

Buttrick, colleagues from Boeing and 91探花faculty members brainstormed over coffee and many meetings, drawing up plans for the center during the past 18 months. Up to eight Boeing engineers will keep their full-time positions in the company and move to the 91探花lab space in the as affiliate instructors. Eight graduate students and six faculty members will also join the research center team.

Each project involves making airplane assembly and manufacturing more efficient, automated and streamlined, and is important to Boeing’s product development. Actual airplane parts as well as smaller replicas will live in the 91探花lab space as the projects develop.

“We strategically chose projects where we want to solve a problem, but we see there are areas where we can employ academic talent to work on portions of a project and come up with viable solutions,” Buttrick said. “It will give us a fresh perspective and enhance our ability to innovate.”

One project is designed to make it easier for mechanics to build the insides of airplane wings 鈥� shallow, narrow spaces where it is physically hard to work. Little robots or remotely operated vehicles could be programmed to go inside these small spaces and place nuts on bolts, seal seams and inspect the inside of the wing to make sure extra debris is removed. A creative solution to this challenging job could improve quality and consistency on each airplane model, Buttrick said.

Other projects include automating the riveting of fuselages and predicting the final, full-sized shape of certain aircraft structures.

The center’s leaders plan to grow the number of projects housed at the 91探花and involve more students and faculty members from across campus, particularly in composites research.

“This center, which will aptly and fondly be called the ‘BARC,’ represents another example of the amazing synergy between Boeing and 91探花Engineering,” said Dean . “For almost 100 years we have worked together in ways that benefit the company, our students and the region’s economy. The student experience within the BARC is unparalleled and will provide outstanding preparation for real-world, hands-on jobs.”

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For more information, contact Reinhall at reinhall@uw.edu or 206-685-6665. For Boeing questions, contact Nate Hulings at nathan.a.hulings@boeing.com or 425-233-4119.

They are the Advanced Vehicle Works team, otherwise known as . Their challenge in this next four-year competition, called , is to convert a Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric car. The 91探花is one of 16 schools invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Co. competition that spans four years with stand-alone contests each spring. Year one kicked off with a workshop in Michigan in mid-September.

The 91探花team runs on undergraduate talent and hard work, with about 60 students prepared to put in thousands of hours collectively to engineer and design a hybrid Camaro, while keeping the car’s iconic flair as a high-performance “muscle car.”

“It’s an incredible thing we have to do in terms of performance to meet the targets of the competition, and there’s no such vehicle out there” said , the team’s faculty adviser and a 91探花professor of mechanical engineering. “This is what makes it an educational and engineering challenge for us. I’m confident we’ll be able to do it.”

The 91探花doesn’t have an auto engineering program or a multimillion-dollar auto research facility, as some of its competitors do. But what enabled the team to do well in the last EcoCAR competition 鈥� and first in lowest energy consumption for its hybrid Chevrolet Malibu 鈥� is strong work ethic and rigorous academic preparation.

“Most of us aren’t gearheads and haven’t turned wrenches before,” said Brian Magnuson, the team’s engineering lead and a senior in electrical engineering. “We do well in competition because we have the work ethic, good teamwork and instruction from our departments. We’re a fine engineering school and it really shows in this competition.”

It also helps that students get along, both in and out of the lab.

“We’re a bunch of great friends who enjoy what we do together. That makes it really easy to come in and spend the time necessary to get the work done,” Magnuson said.

The team is expected to build a hybrid car, seek funding and sponsorships, do community outreach at schools and events and maintain a dynamic website and social media streams. The endeavor聽operates like a small business, with the flavor of a startup.

Still, the primary purpose is to learn and gain actual work experience. The project is mostly run by undergraduate, full-time students and is truly interdisciplinary. Many come from the UW’s engineering departments, but also from communications, business and design departments and schools.

“You help a lot and you learn a lot along the way. That’s the whole point of the program,” said Ajay Gowda, a 91探花graduate student in mechanical engineering who’s one of four graduate students working with the team.

Students are expected to put in at least five to 10 hours a week. Most average 30 hours a week, on top of their full undergraduate course load, and that ramps up to 50 or 60 hours when a deadline is approaching. For that reason, it’s not for everyone, and students must fill out an application with a r茅sum茅, cover letter and transcript, and come in for an interview.

During this first year of competition, students will design the internal components of a hybrid Camaro, then run computer tests and simulations before sending in their proposal. If competition organizers like what they see, the team gets a new Camaro delivered to campus sometime next summer.

They must design the car to fit a set of technical specifications, including achieving zero to 60 mph in less than 5.9 seconds. Organizers have asked that students push the envelope with innovation and go beyond using standard hybrid components like a battery pack and charger. This could mean putting independent motors on each rear wheel, or trying any number of cutting-edge technologies.

“The Camaro is American muscle 鈥� it’s supposed to roar, make a lot of noise and drink a lot of fuel,” said Gowda with a laugh. “We have to make that into a hybrid that goes fast, makes a lot of noise, is fuel efficient 鈥� and is something people still want to buy.”

Fabien started working with students on electric vehicles seven years ago as part of a senior capstone course in mechanical engineering. After his students successfully converted a Honda Accord into an electric car, Fabien along with , professor and chair of the mechanical engineering department, thought they were ready for the EcoCAR 2 competition that began in 2011 and ran for three years. The competition is a unique, prestigious partnership between government, industry and academia, Fabien said.

So far this fall, the team already has 60 members and about half of those are new recruits. The key this year will be building a strong base of new talent for when most of the team’s leadership graduates next spring.

Having that many hands can only help the UW’s prospects, said Sylvie Troxel, mechanical team co-lead and a senior in mechanical engineering. She has been on the team since freshman year and remembers the multiple all-nighters and pyramid stacks of energy drinks.

“Hopefully, we’ll get better scores in competition and a little more sleep,” she said.

http://youtu.be/6EJ2Fkwe9qU

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For more information, contact the team’s communications manager, Kate Kitto, at kkitto@uw.edu or 503-754-8515 and Fabien at fabien@uw.edu or 206-543-6915.