Clinic Program Anniversary
50 th Carlo Vaccari ’13
Steering Planes An Engineering Clinic team created an aircraft nose-wheel steering control system algorithm that adapts itself to diverse conditions and hardware. Eaton Aerospace sought an algorithm that would be quick
to implement, with minimal tracking error and a constant response that equates to a smooth ride for airline passengers. It also had to work with the various sensors and actuators of dif- ferent nose-wheel steering systems. The team investigated and tested several different algo-
rithms and settled on an L1 adaptive control for the steering system. They also created a graphical user interface that allows engineers to streamline the development and testing of adaptive algorithms for future control systems.
Take it to the Sandbox A Computer Science Clinic team worked with security-as-a-service vendor Proofpoint Inc. on cutting-edge, malicious software (malware) detec- tion. Malware perpetrators gain unauthorized
access to a system to steal valuable or sensitive information or disrupt computer operations. The Clinic team reported that more than 100 million instances of malware currently ex- ist, much of it carried in innocent-seeming files like PDF and Microsoft Office documents, which make up the majority of email attachments. Even with its large computing power, Proof- point still needs a filtering system to select which files get fully analyzed to determine if they should be sandboxed (isolated), thrown out immediately or saved and passed along. The Clinic team constructed a system from existing open-source compo- nents that detects suspicious MS Office and Rich Text Format documents by analyzing files statically. Their system is designed to be used by Proofpoint in combination with other analysis tools to determine if a file should be flagged as suspicious mate- rial and analyzed further.
clinic program timeline 1993
1994
Computer Science Clinic begins; Robert Keller is first director
The Engineering Department hosts the 30th Anniversary International Clinic Sympo- sium (supported by grant from Sloan Foundation), with attendees from England (Cambridge), Mexico and the U.S.
A Greener Buffet SternoCandleLamp tasked HMC students with an open-ended problem: to reduce waste in its chafing fuel products—the burners caterers use to keep trays of food warm. The Engineering Clinic team analyzed the amount of waste
from chafing fuel cans and investigated a wide range of options. Among others, they looked at refillable cans and wick removal before choosing their final design. The components of the design were a clear plastic bottle—
more easily recognizable as recyclable than metal—and a reusable wick set into a screw-on lid. When the fuel in one bottle is spent, the user unscrews the wick and places it on the new bottle. Wicks can be re-used up to 50 times. The team also developed a carrying rack for empty bottles. The solution works especially well for caterers because it al-
lows fuel bottles to be shipped without the wick; flat bottles are more stackable and space efficient, reducing transport costs and air pollution from fuel costs.
Smartphone as Scanner Text photographed with a smartphone can often be fuzzy. The Laserfiche Computer Science Clinic team worked to improve the technology the company uses to digitize and process pho- tographs of documents taken with a smartphone camera. The team sought to make the images of text easier for humans to read and for a computer to process. Utilizing complex algo- rithms, the team translated photos of text into clean, black- and-white letters and de-warped the document, straightening out the curved edges of text. The improvements would allow a computer to process an image as a plain-text document—using OCR (optical character recognition)—and for keyword search and more complex processing. For example, a business could enter receipts into its accounting software simply by photo- graphing them.
1996
Physics Clinic begins with project sponsored by Science Applications International Corporation; Robert Wolf is first director
2000
Environmental Studies Clinic co-advised by Tad Beckman and Nancy Hamlett
20
Har vey Mudd College SUMMER 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40