A Holistic Approach to Aerospace Control System Design
Robert H. Bishop
Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics
The objectives of the Aerospace Engineering degree program are (i) to prepare students for professional practice in aerospace engineering and related engineering and scientific fields, (ii) to prepare students for post-baccalaureate education as their aptitude and professional goals may dictate, (iii) to instill in students a commitment to life long education and ethical behavior throughout their professional careers, and (iv) to provide students with an awareness of the effects of technology in a contemporary global and societal context.
Historically, undergraduate curriculum in aerospace engineering has focused
on objectives (i) and (ii), namely, preparing students for professional practice
in aerospace engineering and preparing students for post-baccalaureate education
as their aptitude and professional goals may dictate. Hence the undergraduate
curriculum is naturally structured to provide students with the technical know-how
to enter industry and graduate school upon graduation from UT. Instilling in
students a commitment to life long education and ethical behavior and providing
students with an awareness of the effects of technology in a contemporary global
and societal context are not central themes in our curriculum at the moment.
Taking a holistic approach to curriculum development will work towards alleviating
the gaps in our undergraduate education.
With this in mind, the overarching objective of this proposal is to develop
the ASE170P Controls Laboratory curriculum to address all four ASE degree program
objectives in a unified fashion. The goals of the project are to develop an
ASE170P Controls Laboratory curriculum that integrates (1) controls systems
design and implementation, (2) ethics in design, and (3) an understanding of
the role of aerospace technology in a global context. A holistic approach will
reveal the technical aspects of implementing control systems in hardware (thereby
addressing the needs and desires of our students), while at the same time stimulating
discussions and thought-processes surrounding the role that technology has in
a global setting and the implications of ethics in the design process. In aerospace
engineering, unethical behavior in the design of control systems can lead to
tragedy, including deaths of innocent people. As the design paradigm has changed
from a performance-driven model to a cost-driven model, many design ethics issues
have emerged. The list of aerospace design problems with potential ethics issues
is large, and we will incorporate one or two case studies in aerospace engineering
ethics into the Controls Laboratory class. Effective engineering leadership
requires an understanding of the technology in a global context. Incorporating
current events which have a control systems component into the activities of
the students would establish the notion that understanding the impact of technology
is important.