Clinic Program Anniversary
50 th
a half-century of learning by doing
Written by JUDY AUGSBURGER, STEPHANIE L. GRAHAM, KOREN WETMORE
If You Can’t See It, Does It Exist? What makes up the part of the universe that we cannot see? A group of researchers from universities and laborato- ries around the world are collaborating to determine just what else is out there. The Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) is a study of the four-fifths of the matter in the universe that is dark matter. The nature of this invisible matter is unclear, but by searching for the axion with a su- perconducting magnet, scientists hope to gain some insight into the makeup of this hypothetical elementary particle. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory charged the Physics/Engineering Clinic team members with creating a device for the ADMX that could help discover axions via conversion into microwave photons. Students simulated, designed, built and tested a large-volume, high-frequency resonant microwave cavity. Multiple conductive tun- ing posts within the cavity manipulate the characteristic modes of the system, allowing the cavity to potentially de- tect axions by tuning the cavity’s resonant frequency. The team’s work on the puzzle of axions adds to the research that may help us better understand the universe.
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Professors advising students, liaisons helping students discover approaches to difficult questions, sponsors presenting ambitious project ideas and giving generously of their time and money, students working together and consistently producing professional results—all of these elements, remarked Geoff Kuenning, director of Computer Science Clinic, make up the essence of Clinic, a program that has thrived for half a century with 1,400 projects and counting. This year’s 42 projects—a diverse sampling of which follows—again consisted of these essential elements and one more: fun.
Transforming Code Intel, the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips, sought solutions for two projects this year: an Engineering Clinic related to division algorithm design and a Global/Com- puter Science Clinic, sponsored in cooperation with Technion University, Israel, dealing with C++ code transformations. For Global Clinic, Mudders traveled to Israel to coordinate
with Technion students on software and hardware memory efficiency. Intel converts compression algorithms for video into graphics hardware that quickly compresses videos so they can be stored in a small space on a hard drive. Key to these algo- rithms is the programming language C++. Team members were tasked with designing a tool that automates the transformation from general C++ to SystemC (a C++ library for describing and simulating hardware). This transformation is currently done manually, and the process takes many weeks, with the major- ity of the time spent converting C++ to SystemC. The global team helped Intel developers speed up the conversion process by building a collection of tools to convert unsynthesizable C++ code into synthesizable SystemC code, which can be fed into a semi-automated process and converted to hardware.
clinic program timeline 1958
1963
Seed money from Carnegie Corporation aids development of new curricular material for Clinic
Sloan Foundation grant, first grant explicitly for Clinic. Fund- ed its operation until it became self-sustaining
Engineering Clinic founded by Jack Alford and Mack Gilkeson.
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U.S. Steel Foundation provides seed money for Clinic operation
1965
Faculty discuss introducing Engineering Clinic into curriculum
Ford Foundation grant supports Clinic
First presentation of HMC Clinic in a paper delivered at American Society for Engineering Education in Chicago
18
First project: Engineering Clinic with Vortox Corp., a Claremont-based manufacturer of automotive air filters. Students asked to convert waste coconut husks to activated charcoal
Har vey Mudd College SUMMER 2013
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