Michel Chasles (15 November 1793 – 18 December 1880) One of

ME 581 – HW_02
ALQAHTANI HASSAN
Michel Chasles (15 November 1793 – 18 December 1880)
One of the famous mathematicians is Michel Chasles. He
was born at Épernon in France. At the beginning of his life, he
faced a lot of troubles. But in this report we will focus on his
scientific career. The first participation of Chasles was in 1837,
and it was about “Historical view of the origin and development of
methods in geometry”. After this work, his reputation raised
rapidly in mathematician and historian of mathematics.
Furthermore, he learned something new in projective geometry
which is the method of reciprocal polars, and he improved the
properties of quadric surfaces by adding the principle of
homography.
When Chasles was nearly 48 age (1841), he worked as professor at the École
Polytechnique in Paris, and he taught some courses in geodesy, mechanics, and astronomy. In
1846 he was chosen to work at the Sorbonne University, and his major was about geometry. The
problem of finding the gravitational magnetism of an ellipsoidal mass to an external point was
unknown at that time. During his work with Sorbonne University, he solved this problem. After
twenty years, he started to publish his achievements of solving problems by using his “method of
characteristics” and his “principle of correspondence” in a journal called Comptes rendus which
is one of an academy of sciences journals in French. Moreover, he wrote some main text in
geometry. For example, in text Traité de géométrie Chasles explains some topics such as cross
ratio, pencils and involutions. In Kinematics, there is a theory called Chasles’s theorem which is
that “every spatial displacement is the composition of arotation about some axis, and a
translation along thesame axis”.
During his life, Chasles served for mathematics, and he improved the geometry science.
Because of that, he received many honours. In 1839, He was nominated a corresponding member
of the Académie des Sciences, and became a full member in 1851. Also, He was chosen a Fellow
of the Royal Society of London in 1854. After ten years, he was selected by London
Mathematical Society. Furthermore, He worked as professor in Brussels, Copenhagen, Naples,
Stockholm, St Petersburg, and the United States.
References:
1234-
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Chasles.html
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Michel-Chasles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Chasles
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/16741-s07/www/lecture4.pdf
Franz Grashof. July 11, 1826 – October 26, 1893
Brief Historical Biography
Henry Arneson
hxa5143
Franz Grashof was born into the tail end of the Industrial Revolution in Germany, a time that was
marked by rapid advancements in manufacturing technologies. The world had already changed
significantly, but the world was still changing rapidly with rapid advancements in the sciences and
technology, namely electricity and metallurgy. Social changes were also changing, with the abolition of
slavery throughout the major powers. Much of the advancements that occurred in the 19th century
paved the way for modern science and engineering in addition to the modern world as we know it and
Grashof was one of the contributors.
Grashof quit school at the age of 15 to pursue work as a locksmith, he later completed his secondary
schooling and enrolled at the Berlin Industrial Academy from 1844 to 1847. His studies were
interrupted after he was drafted as an army volunteer, and though he aspired to become a naval officer,
he realized that such a physically demanding line of work was not suited for him and he returned to
Berlin to resume his studies and teach mathematics and mechanics. In 1856 he was a founding member
of the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) which meant to unite engineers from states across Germany
and eventually rose to become a prestigious organization. Grashof was made the director and editor of
its journal. After many more years of instructing applied mechanics and machine theory he published a
comprehensive text. This text released from 1871 to 1886 was a three volume material that was the
first of its kind. It presented the fundamental equations of the theory of elasticity in the context of
material science and strength. He examined stress states and structures from topic ranging from
flexures, torsion, buckling, plates and shells. Throughout his career he was intimately involved in
academic expansion, seeking to supply universities throughout Germany with the appropriate tools and
knowledge to advance their engineering and science curriculum. His work is remembered across
disciplines from the Grashof number in fluid dynamics (which characterizes the ratio of buoyancy to
viscous forces in a fluid) to the Grashof criterion (which determines whether a member in a four-bar
linkage can complete full revolutions. He suffered a stroke in 1883 which limited and a second stroke in
1891 leading to his death two years later, leaving behind a wife and two children. He was honored by
the VDI with highest honors by raising the Grashof Monument in Karlsruhe and yearly a medal is
awarded called the Grashof Medal, the highest honor in the field.
Joseph Bartolai
ME 581
H02 – Biography
Dan Negrut, Ph.D. is the Director of the Wisconsin Applied
Computing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prof.
Negrut holds a B.S. in Aeronautics from the Polytechnic Institute of
Bucharest in Bucharest, Romania and a Ph.D. in Mechanical
engineering from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. His
work has been published in scientific journals over 40 times. He is
best known for his work in computational analysis of multibody
dynamics.
Prof. Negrut’s other research interests include
development of simulation and visualization software. This includes
research taking place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Simulation Based Engineering
Lab. (Author’s note: this is really interesting stuff, especially the vehicle-terrain interaction
simulations: http://sbel.wisc.edu/)
Prof. Negrut is best known for his work developing methods of implementing the Hilber-HughesTaylor (HHT) Method of implicit integration into multibody dynamics. Use of the HHT method
originated in linear finite element analysis of structural dynamics. As an implicit method,
simulation remains stable to the same precision for larger timesteps than comparable explicit
methods. Prof. Negrut’s work introduced a novel algorithm based on the HHT integration that
determines what unknowns should be concentrated on during analysis, uses a novel timestep size
control strategy, and defined criteria for limiting the simulation to the user’s specified accuracy.
This work was implemented and released in a commercial simulation software package.
Sources:
1. http://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/faculty/negrut_dan
2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-negrut-89320719
3. http://sbel.wisc.edu/
4. http://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Olsi_owAAA
AJ&citation_for_view=Olsi_owAAAAJ:u5HHmVD_uO8C
5. http://opensees.berkeley.edu/wiki/index.php/Hilber-Hughes-Taylor_Method
Sean Bender
ME 581
SP 2016
Karl Kutzbach
(1875 – 1942)
Karl Kurtzbach was born in 1875 into a merchant family in the city of Trier,
located along Germany’s border with Luxemburg. He studied engineering at
the Technical University of Aachen and the Technical University BerlinCharlottenburg, where he focused on the theory and construction of piston
engines.
After completing his studies in 1900, Kutzbach worked for a Nuremburg
engineering firm MAN, which specialized in the design of reciprocating internal
combustion engines. In 1913 he became a Professor of Machine Elements
(Professur für Maschinenelemente) at the Technical University of Dresden, a
position he would hold for the rest of his life. During the First World War, he
was appointed to the German Academy for Aviation Research and worked with the German Air Force to
eliminate critical vibrations in zeppelin engines.
Kutzbach is today most well-known for his work on kinematics, primarily focused on power trains for
automobiles. He also made contributions to the analysis of gears. During his time at TU Dresden, he
developed a graphical methodology for gear analysis called Kutzbachplan used for the speed and
direction of rotation for all gears in a gear train. This methodology was especially useful in the analysis
of planetary gearing.
In 1928, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Hannover.
Kutzbach was a signatory on the 1933 Confession of German Professors to Adolf Hitler. He died on April
25, 1942 in Dresden at the age of 67. A building at TU Dresden (which currently houses the Institute for
Fluid Dynamics) is named in his honor.
References (note: all in German)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kutzbach
http://tu-dresden.de/die_tu_dresden/fakultaeten/fakultaet_maschinenwesen/geschichte/karl_kutzbach
http://tu-dresden.de/die_tu_dresden/rektoratskollegium/stk/sg57/uj/bilder/pdf2008/UJ08-08.pdf#page=8
http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd13036021X.html
ME 581 – H02
Name ________Garn Brady________________
Jean-le-Rond d'Alembert—1717 -1783
by Garn Brady
Jean-le-Rond d’Alembert was left on the
steps of the church of St. Jean Baptiste de Rond in
France when he was a baby. His illigitimate father
later sought him out and asked trusted friends to
watch over him. His father’s influence also
allowed him to get into a prestigious Jansenist
school. There he studied law for two years,
medicine for one year, and then finally
mathematics. Much of his education, however, he
acquired by himself.
d’Alembert was not a physicist, but a
mathematician. However, he believed that
mechanics was as much a part of mathematics as
was geometry or algebra.
From Newton’s third law—to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction—came
d’Alembert’s principle:
𝐹−𝑚𝑎 =0
Joe Cusumano, a professor at Penn State, has been known to say that the Cusumano principle is
𝐸 − 𝑚 𝑐2 = 0
in jest of d’Alembert getting a principle named after him simply by rearranging someone else’s equation
to equal zero. As funny as this is, Cusumano is quick to point out that he knows d’Alembert’s principle
is deeper than that. There is the principle of virtual work for static systems. d’Alembert discovered that
this principle could be applied to dynamic systems and still end up with a right-hand-side of the equation
equal to zero—which is critical for the theory of virtual work. This principle is encountered in the theory
of Analytical or Lagrangian Mechanics. It makes it much easier to derive governing equations of motion
for dynamic systems. d’Alembert’s principle is used closely in Hamilton’s principle, which is used
extensively in the theory of vibrations.
d’Alembert joined the Academy of Sciences at the age of 24. When he was 26 he published his
treatise on dynamics that contained his now famous principle. He later applied his principle to the study
of fluid motion. These efforts then led to the development of partial differential equations. He was
awarded a prize for this development by the Berlin Academy, and was elected to join the academy
shortly thereafter. He then applied his principle to the study of vibrating strings, and then to the study of
bodies with any shape. d’Alembert also studied the motion of the planets and was able to explain several
nuances in the observed position of the earth and the stars.
Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Le-Rond-dAlembert
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/dAlembert.html
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/D'Alembert.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Alembert%27s_principle
David Coy
ME 581, HW02
1/26/2016
Franz Reuleaux: “The Father of Kinematics”
(9/30/1829 to 8/20/1905)
Perhaps best remembered today for the triangles/polygons that
contain his name, Reauleaux was a historic German mechanical
engineer. Franz grew up in an industrial setting with his family that
were machine builders and ran a factory in Eschweiler Germany.
Both his father and grandfather were said to be machine builders that
would have most certainly have influenced the young Franz.
Additionally, he had a great start to his career by studying at the
Polytechnic School at Karlsruhe where he was fortunate to study
under Ferdinand Redtenbacher (also often referred to as the father of
mechanical engineering). From there, he was quickly promoted in
academia at the Swiss Federal Polytechnical Institute in1856 to the
Konigs Technischen Hochschule at Berlin where he was elected as
Rector and several other formidable titles until his retirement in
18961.
He is responsible for building hundreds of different theoretical machines and kinematic
mechanisms2. His first major published book was a machinist handbook “Der Constructeur” and
was an enormous success at the time and was even considered a standard reference for anyone in
his field3. Alexander Kennedy’s translation of his famous “The Kinematics of Machinery” gives
a detailed account of his career’s work4. There was a large effort to separate, classify, and bring
order to the various kinematic machines he developed. Using topological concepts, he came to
represent machines as chains of parts where the motion of each part is constrained in some
fashion to its neighboring parts5. These were called “kinematic pairs” and “kinematic chains
“and could easily be represented by symbols, as seen in his publications.
A more theoretical and mathematical contribution was that of “curves of constant
breadth/width”. This refers to a whole class of curved geometries in which each shapes width is
the same no matter what the orientation of the curve6. These shapes may mostly be thought of as
curiosities with limited practicality but intriguing motions.
Towards Reuleaux’s retirement in 1896, there was growing criticism circulating in Germany
about his emphasis on education. Critics complained that his teachings were too strongly
emphasizing theoretical and abstract engineering ideas instead of more practical and concrete
subjects. The focus on the more practical side of machine building became especially true in
other countries at the turn of the century (especially after the World Wars). However, his work
proved to be a keystone to future machine building and kinematics to this day. For these reasons,
it is clearer why this man has often been referred to as the father of kinematics.
1
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830903635.html
“Reuleaux Collection of Kinematic Mechanisms, Cornell University”
3
Der Constructeur, Reuleaux, Franz, 1861
4
Kinematics of Machinery, Reuleaux, Franz, 1876
5
Francis C. Moon, “Franz Reuleaux: Contributions to 19th C. Kinematics and Theory of Machines”
6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuleaux_triangle
2
Sir Isaac Newton Biography (25 December 1642 - 20 March 1727)
By: Anjali Dhobale
Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day, 1642, the same
year Galileo died. Newton’s most important discoveries
included nature of gravity, the origin of color and
principles of calculus. He is also the inventor of the first
reflecting telescope. [1]
In June 1661, aged 18, Newton began studying for a law
degree at Cambridge University’s Trinity College, earning
money working as a personal servant to wealthier students.
By the time he was a third-year student he was spending a
lot of his time studying mathematics and natural
philosophy (today we call it physics). His natural
philosophy lecturers based their courses on Aristotle’s
incorrect ideas from Ancient Greece. Newton began to
disregard the material taught at his college, preferring to study the recent (and more scientifically
correct) works of Galileo, Boyle, Descartes, and Kepler. Reading the works of these great
scientists, Newton grew more ambitious about making discoveries himself. [3]
He wrote and published the book Mathematica Principia, which provided a detailed explanation
of the laws of gravity and motion, particularly as they applied to astronomy. Based on ideas by
Galileo Galilei and other natural philosophers of his time, he set forth laws of physics, from that
describe the motion of any object in the universe. Newton’s three laws of motion has been a
foundation of our study of mechanical systems. [2]
Newton also attempted to make Britain's currency the most stable in the world. In the 17th Century,
Britain's finances were in crisis. One in every 10 coins was forged, and often the metal in a coin
was worth more than the face value of the coin itself. Newton oversaw a huge project to recall the
old currency, and issue a more reliable one. Always methodical, Newton kept a database of
counterfeiters, and prosecuted them with a puritanical fury. [3]
Isaac Newton died on March 31, 1727, aged 84. He had never married and had no children.
Isaac Newton's fame grew even more after his death, as many of his contemporaries proclaimed
him the greatest genius who ever lived. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but his discoveries had a
large impact on Western thought, leading to comparisons to the likes of Plato, Aristotle and
Galileo.
However, it is important to note that laws of Newton become increasingly inaccurate when speeds
reach substantial fractions of the speed of light, or when the force of gravity is very large.
Einstein’s equations are then required to produce reliable results. [4]
1.
2.
3.
4.
References:
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/disted/ph121/l3.html
http://ice.as.arizona.edu/~dpsaltis/Phys321/chapter2.pdf
http://www.famousscientists.org/isaac-newton/
http://www.biography.com/people/isaac-newton-9422656#final-years
ME 581 – Spring 2016 – H02
Name:
Evan C. Dill
.
Richard Hartenberg
February 27, 1907 – December 24, 1997
Richard Scheunemann Hartenberg, who
was born in Chicago, Illinois made far
reaching contributions to the field of
kinematics by revitalizing the field as a
whole. Hartenberg was also a devout
researcher into the history of technology
which combined led to over 35 published
research papers and lectures which at the
time were praised by his contemporaries.
Hartenberg was also a contributor to
Encyclopedia Britannica, the Dictionary of
Scientific Biography, and co-author of the
well-received the engineering textbook
Kinematic
Synthesis
of
Linkages.
Following service as a merchant marine,
Hartenberg began his career in engineering
at the University of Wisconsin and received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1928. From
1928 to 1930, Hartenberg continued his studies at universities in Germany before returning to the
University of Wisconsin to become an instructor in Engineering Mechanics. While at Wisconsin,
Hartenberg continued his education resulting in him earning an M.S in Mechanical Engineering
and Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics in 1933 and 1941, respectively.
In 1941, Hartenberg accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University
where he would remain throughout the remainder of his career. In 1956, he was appointed as a
Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Hartenberg served for multiple years as the Chairman
(Acting) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Astronautical Sciences. Hartenberg
would continue to play an active role at Northwestern until his death in 1997, a service to the
university which spanned 56 years.
References:
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/eday/eday1975.html
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-12-29/news/9712290087_1_mechanical-engineers-locomotive-trains
Christian Gobert January 27, 2016 ME 581 HW2
ELI WHITNEY Dec. 8, 1765-Jan. 8, 1825
Eli Whitney was born December 8, 1765 in
Westborough, Massachusetts; during his
youth Whitney lost his mother, worked at a
nail manufacturer, farmed and was a school
teacher. Whitney eventually attended Yale
University and upon graduating he took an
offer to be a teacher in the South, eventually
finding his way to Georgia and meeting his
future business partner Phineas Miller.
During his time in the South and subsequent
years back in the North, Whitney would be
credited with the invention of the cotton gin
and a major advocate of interchangeable
parts. Whitney died January 8, 1825 in New
Haven, Connecticut leaving behind a wife and
four children.
Eli Whitney’s most notable credit is his invention of the cotton gin. The cotton gin transformed
the economy of the United States, revitalizing the cotton industry and slave trade. Before
Whitney’s invention, cotton was separated from the seeds by hand, a time consuming process. The
cotton gin involved pulling the strands of cotton fibers through a wire mesh, via a drum with
serrated hooks, that does not allow seeds to pass but only cotton fibers. Within 20 years of its
introduction, the cotton industry was exporting around 1000 times more in weight of cotton than
it did before. Cotton was the leading export of the United States in the early half of the 19th Century
because of the cotton gin and timely industrial revolution. Unfortunately Whitney’s request for a
patent took too long before it was granted, 13 years, leading to third party cotton gins appearing in
the market due to a lack of supply, ease of imitation and lack of patent enforcement. Whitney and
his business partner Phineas Miller did not receive a patent until 1809 and by then both were near
bankruptcy.
Due to Whitney’s misfortune with the cotton gin and subsequent near bankruptcy, Whitney took a
government contract to manufacture muskets, where his advocacy for interchangeable parts began.
Having never produced small arms before, Whitney began manufacturing in 1798 for the US
government and eventually delivered his promise of 10,000 in 1809, 9 years late on the government
contract. Some view Whitney’s musket manufacturing as a scheme to make money due to his
cotton gin downfall, but during this time Whitney was keen on demonstrating the advantages of
interchangeable parts and mass production.
References:
[1] “Eli Whitney” Wikipedia. 2016. Internet
[2] Mirsky, Jeannette. “Eli Whitney” Britannica. 2015. Internet
[3] Cefry, Holly. The Inventions of Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin. PowerKids Press. 2003. Print
Siegfried Heinrich Aronhold (July 16, 1819 – March 13, 1884)
by Brad Hanks
Siegfried Heinrich Aronhold was born in Anderburg, East
Prussia. His parents, Moses Sussel Aronhold, a merchant, and
Wilhelmine Aronhold, were Jewish. While a boy, he began
studying at an elementary school in Anderburg. Later he continued
his studies at a Gymnasium in Rastenburg. During his time in
Rastenburg his father died so his mother decided to move to
Konigsberg. Siegfried moved with his mother and was able to
continue his studies at a Gymnasium there.
On October 25 of 1841, Siegfried entered the University of
Konigsberg where he was taught mathematics and natural sciences by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel,
Friedrich Julius Richelot, Ludwig Otto Hesse, and Franz Ernst Neumann. In particular he was
influenced by Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi whom he later followed to the University of Berlin.
Siegfried faced a major challenge due to his religious background. There is ample
evidence that bring Jewish made it more difficult for him to be recognized. He struggled to find
work that could support himself and his research efforts as explained by this quote which is
translated from a letter written to Hesse in October 1849, “Unfortunately my external
circumstances are not such that I could achieve a solid position in life, and the daily effort to earn
a living produces a depressing influence on my scientific endeavors, making it utterly impossible
to meet those obligations to which I consider necessary for entering into a better situation.” (1)
Siegfried was able to work by giving private mathematics lessons and as a private tutor
for a respectable family in Vienna. During this time he had continued researching and was able
to publish an important article on third-order homogeneous functions of three variables in
Crelle’s Journal in 1849. As a result of this work and his thesis on a new algebraic principle he
was finally awarded his doctorate from the University of Konigsburg. This allowed him obtain
more stable positions at the Artillery and Engineers School in Berlin, the Royal Academy of
Architecture, and the Industrial Institute. He was appointed professor in 1863 at the Royal
Academy of Architecture. These stable positions enabled him to start a family. He married Marie
Julie Friederike Hayn and they had three children.
Siegfried was eventually given offers from prestigious institutions which he declined
because he enjoyed teaching at the Industrial Institute. He was known to be an enthusiast and an
inspiring teacher. He is known for his work in the theory of algebraic invariants and covariants.
References
1. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Aronhold.html
2. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830900167.html
3. http://www.geni.com/people/Siegfried-Heinrich-Aronhold/6000000010457372331
4. Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, by Ari Ben-Menahem
Tyler Haussener
ME 581 HW2
1/27/2016
Thomas Newcomen (February 1663 – August 5, 1729)
By: Tyler Haussener
Thomas Newcomen was born in February of 1663 in the town of
Dartmouth located in Devon England. Not much is known about his
early personal life. However, it is believed that he was rather eccentric
and tended to keep to himself. At some point during the early part of
his life he took an apprenticeship to learn the blacksmith trade.
Eventually he became a traveling iron worker crafting tools, nails, and
other hardware for the large number of tin mines in the Devon and
Cornwall area.
It is well known that the Devon and Cornwall area had problems with flooding. Most of the
mines Newcomen worked for were dug so deep that they flooded consistently. In order to keep
the mines functioning the flood water had to be removed. This was typically done using horses to
remove water from the mines. Although this method worked it was very costly. Newcomen
realized there must be a better way to pump the water out of the mines and he sought to create a
machine to replace the cost of using horses. He turned to previous attempts to use steam as the
motive force to remove the water. Newcomen was familiar with the steam engine invented by
Thomas Savery who lived only fifteen miles from him. It is reported that Savery hired
Newcomen for his blacksmithing skills to build Savery’s machines. Newcomen was given
permission to recreate Savery’s steam engine in his own backyard to modify it and make
improvements. After ten years of experimenting he had come up with his own steam engine
design which was superior to the one built by Savery. Typical steam engines at that time had
used condensed steam to create a vacuum. Savery’s pump used this vacuum to create a pressure
difference and pull water up from the mines. Newcomen’s improvement used this vacuum to pull
down a piston by placing the vacuum inside a cylinder. He was then able to use a lever to
transfer the force to a pump that went into the mines.
His new steam engine was the first practical use of a piston in a cylinder. This new technology
was very difficult to fabricate. Casting both the cylinders and pistons was so difficult he would
deliberately make the piston smaller than the cylinder. He would then fill in the remaining gap
with wet leather or rope. Although the design did the job well, the pumps were very inefficient.
Since Savery had previously obtained a patent for his pump in 1698, Newcomen could not patent
his new design. To avoid infringing on Savery’s patent Newcomen began a partnership with him.
His first working engine was installed near Dudley Castle, Staffordshire in 1712. The cylinder
had a diameter of 21 inches and a height of almost 8 feet. It is estimated this first pump created
roughly 5.5 horsepower. Newcomen’s pumps were expensive but worked very well. At the time
he died in 1729 there were over one hundred of his engines throughout Europe.
References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/newcomen_thomas.shtml
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Newcomen
http://biography.yourdictionary.com/thomas-newcomen
http://inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventors/a/Newcomen.htm
ME 581 – H02
Dorcas Kaweesa
Jan. 27, 2016
A short biography on Jacques Denavit
10/1/1930 – 09/12/2012
Jacques Denavit was born on October 1, 1930 in Paris, France. Denavit became a professor of
mechanical and nuclear engineering at Northwestern University in 1958-82. He was a research
physicist in the Plasma Physics Division at the Naval Research Laboratory for 1969-71 and a
research physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1982-93.
Denavit was basically an expert in kinematics and dynamics that he introduced a calculation
method based on matrices. His introduction of a method to describe the relationship between two
joints in different coordinate systems using only four parameters resulted into him being popular.
Denavit’s major collaboration with Richard Hartenberg in 1955 led to the Denavit-Hartenberg
convention. The convention was mainly for the definition of joint matrices. It was commonly
used for the selection of frames of reference in the applications of robotics. Coordinate frames
are attached to the joints between two links such that on transformation is associated with the
joint and the second associated with the link. The use of the Denavit- Hartenberg convention
yielded the link transformation matrix. Denavit also co-authored Kinetic Synthesis of Linkages
with Richard Hartenberg. Their work introduced the mathematics used to describe robotic
motion while using Denavit- Hartenberg parameters.
In addition, they developed a method that allowed the algebraic analysis of spatial kinematic
chains with the help of matrices. The method of derivation of these matrices is now regarded as a
standard procedure.
Denavit passed away on September 12, 2012 in Pleasanton, CA.
References
1. https://www.llnl.gov/community/retiree-and-employee-resources/in-memoriam/jacquesdenavit
2. http://www.dmglib.org/dmglib/main/portal.jsp?mainNaviState=browsen.biogr.viewer&id=420004
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_kinematics
4. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Denavit%E2%80%93Hartenberg_parameters
Leonhard Euler
by Bobby Leary (January 25, 2016)
Leonhard Euler, born April 15th, 1707 in Basel, Switzerland, has contributed
to many facets of physics and mathematics. Euler began his studies at the
age of thirteen at the University of Basel in Switzerland with a focus on
theology, Greek, and Hebrew as requested by his father. He completed his
Master’s degree which focused on the philosophies presented by Descartes
and Newton. After a suggestion from Johann Bernoulli to Leonhard’s father
that Leonhard was ”destined to become a great mathematician”. Johann was
the father of Daniel Bernoulli, who most notably is known for the Bernoullis
Principle in Fluid Dynamics. While at University of Basel, Euler authored
a dissertation on the propagation of sound entitled ”Dissertatio Physica De
Sono”, or in English, ”Physical Dissertation on Sound”. Aside from all of the
academic contributions, Euler took part in the Russian Navy. His position
was a medical lieutenant for three years in 1727 and later became a professor
of physics at St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, which allowed him to leave
his position in the navy.
Euler has contributed to Analysis, Number Theory, Graph Theory, Applied Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy,
Logic, and Music. One interesting thing that Euler contributed, and something we as engineers probably take for
granted, is the introduction of some notational conventions. One of these conventions is denoting the function f
as applied to x as f (x). Also included on that list is using the letter e to note the base of the natural logarithm
and Σ to denote a summation. While in Berlin, Euler published approximately 380 articles, wrote books on the
planetary orbits, calculus of variations, motion of the moon, and differential calculus. By far, in my eyes, Euler’s
greatest contribution to the world of physics and engineering is the following equation:
eiφ = cos (φ) + i sin (φ)
(1)
This equation relates complex exponentials to trigonometric functions. In a special case of this equation, when
φ = π, it reduces down to what is considered the ”most beautiful equation”:
eiπ + 1 = 0
(2)
This equation contains the most important numbers within all of mathematics: 0, 1, π, e, and i. Additionally (pun
intended), this equation contains the basic operations of addition, multiplication, exponentiation, and equality
only one time.
While in his thirties, Euler became blind in his eye due to a severe fever that he nearly died from in 1738. Later in
his life, at the age of fifty-nine, he would develop cataracts in his other eye and become fully blind. Interestingly,
he published more papers yearly while being blind than when he still had his eye sight. At one point, he was
publishing one paper a week; a goal I think every young studious person strives for.
Leonhard Euler passed away in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 76
(September 18, 1783).
References
[1] British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The most beautiful equation is... euler’s identity. http://www.bbc.
com/earth/story/20160120-the-most-beautiful-equation-is-eulers-identity, 2016 (accessed January 25, 2016).
[2] MacTutor History of Mathematics. Leonhard euler. http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/
Euler.html, 1998 (accessed January 25, 2016).
[3] Wikipedia. Leonhard euler. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler, accessed January 25, 2016.
ME581 H02
Jun Ma
Gaspard-Gustav de Coriolis was born in Paris,
France in June 1792. He was brought up in Nancy
and attended school there. Coriolis showed his
talent at a very young age. He ranked second in
the entrance exam for the École Polytechnique in
1808. Recommended by Cauchy, Coriolis became
an assistant professor of analysis and mechanics at
the École Polytechnique in 1816. In 1829, Coriolis
became professor of mechanics at the École
Centrale des Artes et Manufactures. A revolution
in July 1830 enforced Coriolis to leave Paris and
he lost his position. In 1832, Coriolis took a
position at the École des Ponts and Chaussées.
There he teamed up with Navier teaching applied
mechanics. After Navier’s death in 1836, Coriolis
was appointed to his chair. Coriolis continued
teaching until 1838 when he decided to end
teaching and take on the role of director of studies.
He did this task extremely well but his poor health
which had afflicted him since he was young became much worse in the spring of 1843 and a died
a few months later.
Coriolis published a textbook named Calcul de l'Effet des Machines (Calculation of the Effect of
Machines) in 1829. In this book, he tried show that theoretical mechanics can be applied to
industry. Besides, Coriolis also introduced the terms “kinetic energy” and “mechanical work”
and their scientific meanings.
Coriolis published his most important paper in 1835. In this paper, he discussed the
supplementary forces that are discovered in a rotating reference frame. The supplementary forces
were divided into two categories. One of them contained a force that came from the cross
product of the angular velocity of the rotating reference frame and the velocity projection of
moving mass points in a plane with frame’s axis of rotation as normal vector. In this paper,
Coriolis called this force as “compound centrifugal force”. By 1920, this effect is known as
“Coriolis force”.
Coriolis force has a wide range of applications today. The most important impact is the
forecasting of dynamics of the ocean current and the atmosphere in large scale. In these studies,
people usually assume the earth is stationary and build a frame rotating with the earth. Similarly,
Coriolis force is also studied in applications such as long range ballistic missiles and satellites.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspard-Gustave_de_Coriolis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_force
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustave-Gaspard-Coriolis
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Coriolis.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830900989.html
Biography of Sir William Rowan Hamilton (08/04/1805 - 09/02/1865)
Xiaokun Ma
Sir William Rowan Hamilton was an Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathematician, and he made
significant contributions to classical mechanics, optics, and algebra. Hamilton's work is seen not
only in optics, dynamics, and mathematics but also in philosophy and poetry. All these are
intertwined and interpreted in the context of Victorian science in Ireland.
Hamilton was the son of a solicitor and he was educated by his uncle, James Hamilton, an Anglican
priest. Hamilton lived with his uncle from before the age of 3 until college. Hamilton showed an
aptitude for languages when he was a child: he already made progress with Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew at 5, and studied Arabic, Sanskrit, Persian, Syriac, French, and Italian before 12. Hamilton
was also proficient in arithmetic at an early age. Hamilton competed with the American calculating
prodigy Zerah Colburn in a mental arithmetic contest in September 1813. Hamilton entered Trinity
College in 1823, studied both classics and mathematics, and continued his own mathematical
investigations at the same time. In 1827, while still an undergraduate, Hamilton was appointed
professor of astronomy at Trinity College and Royal Astronomer of Ireland. After graduation,
Hamilton spent the rest of his life at Dunsink Observatory. Hamilton was elected for the president’s
chair in the Royal Irish Academy in 1837, and he was elected for the first Foreign Associates in
the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1864.
Hamilton is best known for the formulation of Hamiltonian mechanics in the field of engineering.
Although developed for classical mechanics, Hamilton's equations also find wide application in
modern quantum mechanics. Hamilton is also well-known for his discovery of quaternions. Today,
quaternions find application in standard quantum mechanics, aerospace navigation, and computer
graphics.
References:
[1] Hankins, T. L., 1980. “Sir William Rowan Hamilton”. Baltimore and London.
[2] Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton
[3] Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Rowan-Hamilton
[4] Famous Mathematicians: http://www.famous-mathematicians.com/william-rowan-hamilton/
ME581 – Spring 2016 – H02 (1/27/16)
By: Mark McClung
Cyrus Hall McCormick
Born: February 15, 1809, Rockbridge county, VA
Died: May 13, 1884, Chicago, Illinois
Life began for Cyrus McCormick on a plantation in Rockbridge County,
Virginia. His father, Robert, was a blacksmith and an inventor. Robert had
spent decades inventing labor-saving machines and unsuccessfully attempted
to refine and commercialize a reaper machine. After limited formal
education and years of learning in his father’s shop Cyrus McCormick, age
22, took on the reaper project. Having taken a different approach than his
father, he tested his new design in 1831 and while it showed promise was so
noisy it frightened the horse that pulled it. In 1834 he filed his first patent
for the basic reaper design that was horse drawn, cut the standing wheat at
the bottom and layed it down on a platform with a rolling drum so that a
worker could rake it together and bundle it. A key improvement many years
later was a seat attached to the machine for the raker/bundler to sit.
In the 7 year period after the patent was filed, Cyrus McCormick turned most of his attention to the family’s
struggling foundary. Despite his efforts, the foundary business failed as a result of the Bank Panic of 1837,
leaving his family in considerable debt. McCormick subsequently revisited the reaper design, and with his
father refined it and began building and selling reapers out of the family blacksmith shop. Rocky and hilly
fields in the Eastern States were a tough match for his machine and from 1841 to 1844 he had sold 81 units,
most of them locally.
The years following his father’s death in 1846 were pivotal for McCormick’s aspirations. McCormick,
having visited Chicago and assessed the agricultural potential in the area, decided to move there and build a
factory. The flat terrain, inexpensive land and shrinking labor force as well as the proximity of rail and water
transport were excellent ingredients for growth of his bottom line. In 1848, however, the original reaper
patent expired and after a legal battle over many years McCormick ultimately failed to renew it and the basic
design became public domain. Cyrus McCormick, however, was as much a mechanical inventor as he was a
business innovator. With patents only on improvements to the basic reaper he endeavored to outsell his
competitors. Skeptical farmers were his biggest challenge, so he implemented several business innovations
in an age of sparse media, such as creative advertising, public demonstrations of his products, money-back
guarentees and customer financing as an enticement. By 1850 he had a traveling sales force and mass
production that made McCormick Harvesting Company the most well known reaper company in the United
States. By 1860, as McCormick continued to improve his product offering by buying technology to update
his machines, sales volume grew to nearly 5000 machines per year.
In between his time-consuming business dealings and legal battles Cyrus McCormick had other interests. He
was an active Presbyterian and promoted Old School Calvinism. He founded the McCormick Theological
Seminary in Chicago and owned two respected Presbyterian periodicals. He met a woman named Nancy
Fowler at his church who was visiting Chicago at the time and eventually married her in 1848. Over the next
seventeen years they had five children. He was also very active in the Democratic Party, served in the
Democratic National Convention for 4 years and even ran for the Illinois Congressional seat in 1864.
In 1871, the Great Chicago fire destroyed his factory, but having already established his company’s
dominance, he rebuilt the factory even bigger and by the mid 1880’s fueled by improved overseas shipping
solutions and improvements in productivity implemented by his son, Cyrus Jr., sales topped 50,000 machines
a year from a factory that employed 1400 workers at peak production. Having turned the business over to his
son, but still involved well into his seventies, Cyrus McCormick died a very wealthy man and left behind a
changed and more prosperous Nation.
ME581 – Spring 2016 – H02 (1/27/16)
By: Mark McClung
Sources:
Wilson, Mitchell, Cyrus Hall McCormick American Industrialist and Inventor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Cyrus-Hall-McCormick
Gary Scott Smith, McCormick, Cyrus Hall, American National Biography Online, Feb. 2000.
http://www.anb.org/articles/10/10-01098.html
MacRae, Micheal, Cyrus McCormick, ASME.org, 2012
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/manufacturing-processing/cyrus-mccormick
Gross, Daniel, et al., Cyrus McCormick’s Reaper and the Industrialization of Farming, Forbes Greatest Business
Stories of All Time, 2012.
http://www.stephenhicks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/forbes-mccormick.pdf
ME 581 Spring 2016
SIR ALEXANDER KENNEDY
Alyssa Minnier
(1847-1928)
Alexander Kennedy, also known as Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy
was born March 17, 1847 and died November 1, 1928. He married in 1874
and had three children, two sons and one daughter. Born in a small district
of London he underwent his early studies at the City of London School and
then began a short course at the Royal School of Mines for basic grounding
in engineering. He was a member of numerous institutions receiving three
honorary doctorates and was a leading British civil and electrical engineer. Aside from his
academic contributions, Sir Alexander Kennedy found passion in photography as he was one of
the first to document Petra, an archeological site in the country of Jordan after the Ottoman
Empire collapsed.
Sir Alexander Kennedy began his career in 1864 as an apprentice with a shipbuilding firm
named J&W Dudgeon of Cubitt Town. In his four years as a draughtsman, he had a hand in
constructing one of the first ships that consisted of compound engines and twin screws. He left in
1868 with a thorough understanding of both systems. He later joined Palmer’s Engine Works
after completing his apprenticeship. As the leading draughtsman Sir Alexander Kennedy
designed the first compound engine to be built in the north. At the age of 24 he was named
partner of H.O. Bennett in Edinburgh, where he was heavily involved with the design, building
and testing of boilers. Still heavily interested in academics, he was appointed to the chair of
Engineering at University College, London at the age of only 27. In this position, he established
the modern engineering curriculum to be adapted worldwide, in which students learn the
fundamentals of not only engineering principles, but physics, mathematics, chemistry and other
sciences. He also saw the importance of experimental application of these principles and had a
laboratory built for the university. In this laboratory, he also studied various materials to
determine their strength and elasticity, including experiments studying the strength of rivotted
joints. In 1886, ten years after creating the first English translations of Franz Reuleaux’s
Kinematics of Machinery, Sir Kennedy published his own book, Mechanics of Machinery. This
was the first time a book based on Reuleaux’s kinematics had been published in English.
In 1889, Sir Alexander Kennedy left the University and turned to electrical engineering. In that
year Kennedy established a private practice as a consultant engineer, partnering with Bernard
Maxwell Jenkin. With the firm thriving, the two had adopted the name of Kennedy & Jenkin. A
design for the supply system for the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation was the
company’s first major contract. The corporation then retained the two as their consultant
engineers. In 1896, now appointed as an engineer for the Waterloo and City Railway he
designed the electrical system to his specifications. Sydney Donkin was later hired as Sir
Alexander’s Engineering Assistant and 1908 and later became the senior partner in 1934 after Sir
Alexander had retired.
ME 581 Spring 2016
Alyssa Minnier
Reference List
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kennedy#Partnership
http://the-meaning.com/alexander_kennedy.html
http://www.jstor.org/stable/769056?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
ME 581 – SPRING 2016 – Homework 2
Name: Thuan M. Nguyen
Biography of Ferdinand Freudenstein
Ferdinand Freudenstein was born on May 12, 1926, in
Frankfurt am Main, Germany. When Ferdinand was 10 years
old, he moved with his parents, and his two sisters to Holland,
Amsterdam. They then joined his brother in London six
months later. Ferdinand spent several years in Llandudno,
North Wales. During this time his farther and brother were
considered enemy aliens and were exiled due to their German
ancestry. In 1942, Ferdinand, his mother, and two sisters sailed
to New York. He spent two years at New York University
before joining the Army at the age of 18. He graduated from
the Army Specialized Training Program in Engineering, at
Texas A&M (1945). After the Army, he went to Harvard
University and earned an M.S. degree in mechanical
engineering (1948). He then moved on to obtain his Ph.D. at
Columbia University.
Born: May 12, 1926
Died: Mar. 30, 2006
Freudenstein started his Ph.D. at Columbia University in 1950.
Kinematics of mechanisms was new at the time and he couldn’t
find any engineering faculty to advice him. Fortunately, Professor H. Dean Baker of the physics
department specialize in combustion, though unsure of the field, was willing to support him. In
his Ph.D. dissertation, Freudenstein developed an algebraic method to determined the position of
an output lever in linkage mechanism. His dissertation was published in 1954; it sparked two
papers in ASME, “An Analytical Approach to the Design of Four-Link Mechanisms” and
“Approximate Synthesis of Four-Bar Linkages.” This was considered revolutionary in America,
vastly superseding previous work done by the Germans and Russians. After Ferdinand received
his Ph.D., he was appointed to an assistant professorship in Columbia University’s mechanical
engineering department. In 1955 he became the chairman of the Department of Mechanical
Engineering. In 1959 he married Leah Schwartzchild and had two children, David and Joan, born
on February 3, 1961 and February 6, 1964 respectively. Leah pass away in 1970, leaving
Freudenstein to their children, while maintaining his responsibilities at Columbia University. He
revolutionized the field of mechanical design by ushering in the computer age in kinematics
synthesis and the design of mechanism, being elected as a member of the National Academy of
Engineering in 1979 and appointed as a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of the Egleston
Medal. In May 1980, Freudenstein remarry to Lydia Gersten. Lydia was a teacher who was
widowed, had grown children, and was caring for her elderly mother. Over his lifetime, he has
over 500 academic descendants belonging to the Freudenstein family tree. For these
extraordinary accomplishments, he is known as the "Father of Modern Kinematics."
ME 581 – SPRING 2016 – Homework 2
Name: Thuan M. Nguyen
REFERENCE:
Roth, Bernie. Honoring Professor Ferdinand Freudenstein. Florida Institute of Technology, n.d.
Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.fit.edu%2Ffreudenstein%2F>.
"Passing of Dr. Freudenstein." Passing of Dr. Freudenstein. Columbia University, 30 May 2006.
Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://me.columbia.edu/passing-dr-freudenstein>.
ROTH, BERNARD. "FERDINAND FREUDENSTEIN." Ferdinand Freudenstein 1926-2006.
THE NAE HOME SECRETARY, 1979. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13160&page=93>.
ME 581 HW 02
1/26/2016
Evan Pelletier
John Harrison’s Life and Works
Born: 24th March 1693
Died: 24th March 1776
John Harrison was an English craftsman and clockmaker who solved one
of the greatest scientific challenges of his era through experimentation
and ingenuity. Starting from an early age Harrison began to tinker with
clocks and discover the intricacies of their internal workings. He began
his professional life as a craftsman and joiner, designing clocks and their
components entirely out of hardwoods such as oak and the Caribbean
wood lignum vitae. After being commissioned to build a turret clock in
North Lincolnshire, England, his skill as a horologist started to be
recognized and his clocks prized for their accuracy over long periods of
time. One of the major contributors to the accuracy of his early clocks
was his invention of the grasshopper escapement, a mechanism to propel
the clock’s pendulum and control the periodic rotation of its timing gear
with very small frictional losses. It was the accuracy and durability of
Harrison’s clocks that brought his skills to the attention of Astronomer Royal Edmond Halley
who examined his creations as entries to compete for the Longitude Prize.
At the time, accurately calculating longitudinal position while at sea remained one of the
greatest unsolved scientific problems. Inventing an accurate, easily reproducible method of
maritime longitude calculation became even more important to England during Harrison’s
lifetime because of the events of the Scilly naval disaster of 1707. The £20,000 (£2.58 million in
2016) Longitude Prize was created in response to the disaster in which the English naval fleet
miscalculated its longitudinal landing position on the English coast and four vessels went down
with 1,500 sailors. John Harrison’s first attempt at claiming the Longitude Prize was a marine
clock now labeled H1 that took him five years to build. Many of the clock’s components,
including a modified version of the grasshopper escapement, wooden wheels, and roller pinions,
were transferred over from Harrison’s earlier land based clocks. The H1 performed very well at
sea, sailing to Lisbon and back with accurate landfalls, but did not qualify for the Longitude
Prize because it was not a transatlantic voyage. Harrison continued to making improvements to
his design with his iterations H2, which was never tested at sea because of war with Spain, and
H3, which implemented circular balance bars to make the clock’s oscillation period more
resistant to the yawing motion produced by ships while tacking. Despite the addition of this
innovation, as well as his invention and implementation of bimetallic strips and caged roller
bearings, H3 never performed exactly as Harrison envisioned.
Realizing that the relatively slow oscillations of clocks would never achieve the stability
needed to keep accurate time at sea, Harrison transitioned his skills honed over 30 years of clock
making to watch making. Watches’ movements had much faster oscillations that allowed for the
stability Harrison was looking for in a small, practical package. After six years of design and
construction, Harrison’s marine watch, H4, was taken on two transatlantic voyages in order to
validate its accuracy and claim the Longitude Prize. Despite calculating the longitudinal landing
position within several miles for both voyages, Harrison was met with resistance from English
Parliament and the Board of Longitude who attributed the watch’s accuracy to inaccuracies
fortuitously canceling out and denied him the immense financial prize. Harrison’s lifetime of
ingeniously furthering his craft was eventually rewarded, however, when King George III
pressured Parliament to bestow the majority of the award and rendered Harrison extremely
wealthy for the remaining three years of his life.
ME 581 HW 02
1/26/2016
Evan Pelletier
References
1. http://www.biographyonline.net/scientists/john-harrison.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_Act
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scilly_naval_disaster_of_1707
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendulum_clock
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper_escapement
7. http://www.woodenclocks.co.uk/page51.html
8. http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/bjbecker/SpinningWeb/lecture13.html (photo)
Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev
(By Arjun P. Kumar)
Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev, who was born on May
4, 1821, Okatovo, Russia, and died on November 26,
1894, St. Petersburg, is the founder of the St.
Petersburg mathematical school, which is otherwise
called the Chebyshev school, and is remembered
primarily for his work on the theory of prime numbers
and on the approximation of functions.
Chebyshev became assistant professor of mathematics at the University of St. Petersburg in
1847. In 1860 he became a correspondent and in 1874 a foreign associate of the Institut de
France. He developed a basic inequality of probability theory called Chebyshev’s inequality, a
generalized form of the Bienaymé-Chebyshev inequality, and used the latter inequality to give
a very simple and precise demonstration of the generalized law of large numbers i.e., the
average value for a large sample of identically distributed random variables converges to the
average for individual variables.
Chebyshev proved Joseph Bertrand’s estimation that for any ‘n’ greater than 3 there must exist
a prime between n and 2n. He also contributed to the proof of the prime number theorem, a
formula for determining the number of primes between two given numbers. He studied
theoretical mechanics and devoted much attention to the problem of obtaining straight-lined
motion from rotary motion using mechanical linkage. The Chebyshev parallel motion is a
mechanical linkage that gives a very close approximation to exact rectilinear motion. His
mathematical writings covered a wide range of subjects, including the theory of probabilities,
quadratic forms, orthogonal functions, the theory of integrals, gearings, the construction of
geographic maps, and formulas for the computation of volumes. His important work on the
approximation of functions by means of Chebyshev polynomials advanced applied
mathematics.
As to Chebyshev's personal life, he never married and lived alone in a large house with ten
rooms. He was rich, spending little on everyday comforts but he had one great love, namely
that of buying property. It was on this that he spent most of his money but he did financially
support a daughter whom he refused to officially acknowledge. He did spend time with this
daughter, especially after she married a colonel. Chebyshev often met her and her husband in
Rudakovo at the home of his sister Nadiejda.
REFERENCE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pafnuty_Chebyshev
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Chebyshev.html
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pafnuty-Lvovich-Chebyshev
ME 581 – H02
Name Adhitya Vikraman Subramani
Biography of Rene Descartes (31st March 1596 – 11th February 1650)
Descartes’ Life:
Rene Descartes was born on the 31st of March,
1596, in La Haye en Touraine in the Kingdom of France.
He lost his mother at an early age and his father remarried
in 1600. As a result, Descartes was brought up by his
maternal grandmother, Jeanne Sain.
He was then enrolled in the Jesuit College at La
Fleche in 1607, which was a boarding school. At La Fleche,
he received an extensive liberal arts education before
graduating in 1614. During 1615-1616, Descartes received
a degree in civil and canon law at the University of Poiters.
Later, in the summer of 1618, he moved to the Netherlands
to volunteer in the army of Maurice of Nassau. It is here
that he met the physicist Isaac Beeckman, who was a great
inspiration for Descartes in his study of physics and
mathematics.
Then, leaving the service of Maurice of Nassau, he travelled through Germany to join the
army of Maximilian of Bavaria. It was during this year of 1619 when Descartes was stationed at
Ulm, that he was inspired to pursue a new method of scientific enquiry. In 1628, he moved to the
Netherlands. He remained there until 1649, when he moved to Sweden at the request of Queen
Christina. It is during this time in the Netherlands that Descartes contributed significantly to
scientific knowledge. It is also during this time, in 1635, that he had a daughter named Francine.
She died of fever when she was just five years old.
In the latter part of his life in the Netherlands, Descartes was more philosophically inclined.
He published several enlightening works in the fields of philosophy, spirituality and meditation.
After moving to Sweden in 1649, he joined the court of Queen Christina. It is here that Descartes
died of pneumonia at the age of 53, on the 11th of February, 1650.
Contributions:
Descartes is popularly known as the Father of modern western philosophy. One of his
noteworthy philosophical contributions is his emphasis on reason to develop the natural sciences.
His famous philosophical works include Discourse on the Method, Principles of Philosophy and
Passions of the Soul. His philosophical work primarily focused on the interplay between the body
and the mind (mind-body duality).
Descartes is also well known for laying down fundamental conservation laws pertaining to
the motion of bodies, and for developing the theory of heliocentric planetary motion in the late
seventeenth century. He has also made his mark in the field of optics, having independently
theorized the law of refraction in 1626. However, it is agreed that his most profound contribution
was Cartesian geometry, which introduced the solution of geometrical problems using algebra.
References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes#Early_life
2. http://www.iep.utm.edu/descarte/
3. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Descartes
ME 581 – H02
Ian Van Sant
Robert Stalwell Ball (b.1840 – d.1913)
Robert Stalwell Ball was a popular and well-regarded
astronomer, kinematician, and public lecturer. Born in Dublin to a
large family, he was the eldest son. Ball began attending Trinity
College soon after the death of his father in 1857, but as an
outsanding student, he won a scholarship and was able to ease his
family’s finacial burden. After graduating, Ball assisted astronomer
William Parsons in obsersing and measuring nebulae using what was
then the largest telescope in the world at Birr Castle in Ireland.
After only two years working with Parsons, Ball was offered a professor position at the
new Royal College of Science in Dublin. There he researched dynamics and developed the
theory of screw kinematics. He published multiple papers on the subject, culminating with The
Theory of Screws: A Study in the Dynamics of a Rigid Body, which won the Cunningham medal
of the Royal Irish Academy in 1879. He also gave lectures on math and science, including a
special night course addressed to working men.
In 1874, Ball applied to and was appointed Royal Astronomer of Ireland and to the
Andrews Chair of Astronomy of Trinity College Dublin. It was during this time that Ball became
famous as a public lecturer, filling lecture halls despite charging high prices for entry. He gave
over 700 lectures in England and Ireland between the years of 1874 and 1884 – averaging around
one lecture every five days. Even with his busy speaking schedule, Ball published multiple popular astronomy books, including A Story of the Heavens in 1886 and The Story of the Sun in 1893.
He even gave successful lecture tours of Canada and the United States. Ball’s lectures and writings were known for known for being simply written and accessible to readers outside academia.
In 1892, Ball became Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at Cambridge, where he
continued to research and lecture. His popularity led to becoming president of both the Quaternion Society and the Mathematical Association.
Ball’s work on screw theory builds on the prior works of Euler, Mozzi, and Chasles in
describing rigid body motion. Ball defined a screw as an ordered pair of 3 dimensional vectors,
and formulated how to perform mathematical computations on screws, such as multiplication,
dot products, and cross products. Using the mathematics of screws, any general combination of
rotation and translation of a rigid body can be described. Screw theory is still relevant today, and
is used in contemporary robot design and multi-body dynamics, where it has been found to work
better than calculation techniques using Euler coordinates.
Sources:
O’Connor, JJ and Robertson, EF. “Ball, Robert Stawell.” <http://www-history.mcs.standrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ball_Robert.html>
Whyte, Nicholas: “Sir Robert Stawell Ball.” 1999 <http://www.nicholaswhyte.info/ball.htm>
Minguzzi, E.: A geometrical introduction to screw theory. 2012 <http://arxiv.org/pdf/1201.4497.pdf>
ME 581 - H02
Robert Fulton
Daniel Williams
(1765-1815)
Born in Little Britain, Pennsylvania in 1765, Robert Fulton is best
known for his work on the steamboat. Although he did not invent
the steamboat, Fulton improved on experimental designs to bring
the steamboat and steamboat services to commercial success.
Fulton is also credited with inventing the first practical
submarine, “Nautilus,” and had some success in art, including
painting Benjamin Franklin's portrait and having two works
accepted by the Royal Academy in London.
Robert Fulton grew up in Pennsylvania, moving from Little
Britain to Lancaster before being sent to Quaker school at the age of 8. After apprenticing at a
jewelry shop and gaining skill in painting, Fulton traveled to London to practice art. Not finding
fame in his painting, Robert Fulton ventured into canals and shipbuilding, guided by
acquaintances Francis Egerton Bridgewater and Charles Mahon, Earl Stanhope. It was in 1796
that Fulton published his Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation.
He then moved to Paris where he proposed his submarine invention, "Nautilus." Although
initially rejected by the French government, Fulton tenaciously built the invention in 1800 using
his own funds, but the submarine was unable to complete a sanctioned attack on British vessels
due to unfavorable winds and tide. He then proposed the idea to the British government four
years later, but this second vessel shared the same defeat in a raid against the French.
During this period, Robert Fulton met Robert Livingston, and the two worked together to bring
the steamboat to fruition. Both men shared the expense of building a steamboat in Paris using an
eight-horsepower engine, an endeavor that ultimately failed, but small successes throughout the
process gave the two new hope. Armed with their determination, Livingston gained an extension
on his New York steamboat operation monopoly, which he initially obtained before traveling to
France, and Fulton ordered a 24-horsepower Boulton and Watt engine to be sent to New York
City.
In 1807, Fulton completed the construction of his steamboat, "Clarion," and on August 17, it
began its maiden voyage from New York City to Albany. While the current sailing sloops took 4
days, this 150-mile journey took a mere 32 hours for the steamboat to complete. In a letter to his
friend, Robert Fulton describes this first journey, which was almost fraught with trouble as the
the steamboat stopped moments after it left the dock:
I went below and examined the machinery, and discovered that the cause was a slight
maladjustment of some of the work. In a short time it was obviated. The boat was again put
in motion. She continued to move on. All were still incredulous. None seemed willing to trust
the evidence of their own senses.
Within five years, Fulton had steamboat services along major river, including the Hudson,
Raritan, Ohio, and Mississippi, as well as Chesapeake Bay.
Daniel Williams
ME 581 - H02
References
"Robert Fulton". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 21 Jan. 2016 <http://www.britannica.com/biography/RobertFulton-American-inventor>.
"Fulton's First Steamboat Voyage, 1807", EyeWitness to History, 2004. Web. 21 Jan 2016
<www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/fulton.htm>.
"Robert Fulton". Who Made America? They Made America. Web. 21 Jan 2016 <http://
www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/fulton_hi.html>.
ME 581 – H02
Name: Kevin Wright
Biography of Bernard Roth (May 28, 1933 - ) by Kevin Wright
Bernard Roth, known as
Bernie, is regarded as one of the
pioneers in robot kinematics and
design. He was born in 1933 in
New York City and earned his
PhD in Mechanical engineering
from Columbia University in
1962.
He joined Stanford
University in ’63 and is currently the Rodney H. Adams Professor of Engineering. His research
of spatial linkage synthesis led to the development of spatial curvature theory for mixed-motion
design specifications for application to robots. The development of these theories help allow for
robots perform part orienting tasks that are common to automated assembly systems. Roth also
introduced screw theory to robotics in 1979 through his book Theoretical Kinematics (co-authored
with O. Bottema) which improved the compliant motion in robotic devices.
In addition to his mechanical engineering exploits, Bernie is also well known for his work
to improve students’ creativity and problems solving skills. He was influenced to pursue growing
his student’s beyond their technical expertise by the Vietnam-War protest movement, the Human
Potential Movement and other upheavals from the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1968, he has
taught classes about the role of a designer in society and helped students assess their how their
views and values impact society. Bernie also taught a series of Creativity Workshops for
professors to encourage more creativity in teaching techniques and alternative course designs. He
also helped found the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, also known as the d.school,
in 2003 in an effort to bring more cross disciplinary collaboration. Many of his techniques have
been captured in his book The Achievement Habit. Bernie Roth has a legacy as pioneer in both
robotic kinematics and as an educator helping enhancing students creative potential.
Sources
1] Ethw.org, "Bernard Roth - Engineering and Technology History Wiki", 2016. [Online]. Available:
http://ethw.org/Bernard_Roth. [Accessed: 27- Jan- 2016].
[2] The Achievement Habit, "Bernard Roth", 2016. [Online]. Available:
http://www.theachievementhabit.com/bernard-roth/. [Accessed: 27- Jan- 2016].
[3]S. Sheppard, "The effects of Bernie-isms and Bernie-cises on various populations of graduate students and
faculty", University of Washington - Electrical Engineering, 2016. [Online]. Available:
http://www.ee.washington.edu/research/seal/internal/files/BERNIE.pdf. [Accessed: 27- Jan- 2016].
Biography of James Watt (1736-1819)
by Liang Yuchi
Born: 18/01/1736
Died: 19/08/1819
Birthplace: Greenock, Scotland
Watt was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer,
renowned for his improvements in steam engine
technology. James Watt helped take us from the farm
to the factory and into the modern world.
James Watt was born in Greenock on 18 January 1736. His father was a prosperous
shipwright. And his mother was well-educated, and intelligent. As a boy, James Watt’s
health was often poor, and much of his learning took place at home. At eighteen, following
the death of his mother, and a ship sinking that placed a financial burden on his family. James
gave up his plans to go to university. Instead, he trained in London as a scientific instrument
maker. After a year in London, he found work at Glasgow University, repairing instruments
for the astronomy department.
In 1763, aged 27, Watt came into contact with a working steam engine, the Newcomen engine.
He found that it was hopelessly inefficient and began to work to improve the design. He
designed a separate condensing chamber for the steam engine that prevented enormous losses
of steam. His first patent in 1769 covered this device and other improvements on
Newcomen’s engine.
In 1775, together with Mattew Boulton who owned an engineering works in Birmingham, Watt
began to manufacture steam engines. Eleven years after Watt built his first small-scale steam
engine, his engines began to be installed to pump water out of mines. News of the new superefficient engines spread fast, and with the coming of Watt’s steam engines, the industrial
revolution began.
In 1800, aged 64, and very wealthy, Watt retired. He continued with research work in his
retirement. He patented his copying machine, the double-action engine, the rotary engine,
and the steam pressure indicator.
Watt died on 19 August 1819. A unit of measurement of electrical and mechanical power-the
watt-is named in his honor.
Reference:
http://www.famousscientists.org/james-watt/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/watt_james.shtml
http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/james-watt
http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/wattbio.html
ME 581 – H02
Name _Kuangzheng Zhou___
John Uicker
(July 11, 1938 - Now)
John Uicker worked at Mechanical Engineering Department of
University of Wisconsin. Throughout his career, his teaching and
research have focused on solid geometric modeling and the modeling of
mechanical motion and their application to computer-aided design and
manufacture. Uicker is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers and has been awarded the Mechanisms and Robotics
Committee Award for his many years of service on the Mechanisms and
Robotics Committee. He has also served on the Computational
Geometry Committee and the Design Automation Committee. In addition He also serves as
Editor Emeritus of the IFToMM international journal Mechanism and Machine Theory.
John Uicker was born on July 11, 1938 and he got his bachelor degree in BME in University of
Detroit. After receiving the master’s degree and PhD from Northwestern University with
Professor J.Denavit as his advisor, he worked for University of Wisconsin till his retirement in
2007. He was the founder of the UW Computer-Aided Engineering center and served as its
director for its initial ten years of operation. During his teaching period, he and his students have
developed geometric modeling and computer-aided design techniques for the simulation of
solidification in metal castings. Also, he developed an extensive computer software system
called the Integrated Mechanisms Program (IMP) for the kinematic, static, and dynamic
simulation of rigid body mechanical systems such as robots and automotive suspensions. The
IMP program is used by more than 200 companies and universities. Some other open source
computer simulation software were also created by Uicker, for example: Geometric modeling of
solids (GMOS), solidification waves in foundry technology (SWIFT).
John Uicker also authored several high quality mechanical design and simulation books. Such
as Theory of Machines and Mechanisms, which provides a text for the complete study of
displacements, velocities, accelerations, and static and dynamic forces required for the proper
design of mechanical linkages, cams, and geared systems.
As an ASEE Resident fellow, he spent 1972-73 at Ford Motor Company. He was also awarded
a Senior Fulbright-Hayes Lectureship as a visiting professor in Cranfield, England, in 1978-79.
He has also been awarded twice for significant research contributions, twice for historically
outstanding papers, and three times for outstanding teaching.
References:
1. "John Uicker Jr. Profile Summary." University of Wisconsin-Madison College Of
Engineering.
http://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/faculty/uicker_john
2. Uicker, John J., Ravani, Bahram, and Sheth, Pradip N.. Matrix Methods in the Design
Analysis of Mechanisms and Multibody Systems. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge
University Press, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 26 January 2016.
3. Uicker, John Joseph, G. R. Pennock, and Joseph Edward Shigley. Theory of Machines and
Mechanisms. Vol. 4th. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
ME 581 – Spring 2016 – H02
Jonathan Zuk
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813)
Joseph Lagrange was a prominent Italian mathematician,
dynamicist, and astronomer in the 18th century. His early
work in 1754 on the subject of ‘calculus of variations’ led
Lagrange to be well-respected by one of the most prolific
mathematicians and thinkers of the day, Leonhard Euler.
This mutual respect led Euler to promote and endorse
Lagrange’s advances in mathematics and mechanics as
well as get him visibility for committee chair positions
and invitations to scientific societies.
By only the age of 19 Lagrange was already appointed a professor mathematics at the Royal
Artillery School in Turin. While spending time as a founder of a scientific society in Turin,
Lagrange published works relating to calculus of variations, calculus of probabilities,
propagation of sound, and studies on vibration. Lagrange did not stop there. He continued to
branch out into other areas of science and publish works on integration of differential equations
(especially noteworthy was his method of solving systems of linear differential equations) and
fluid mechanics. In addition to his work in mechanics and mathematics, Lagrange made a name
for himself as an astronomer with his studies on the motion of the moon and orbits of comets.
In 1766, he was appointed Euler’s successor as Director of Mathematics at the Berlin Academy.
It was in Berlin that Lagrange continued to increase the breadth and depth of his work in the
same fields for which he had become famous. Lagrange’s most famous work was Mecanique
analytique. He published this after moving to Paris in 1787 to take a position at the Académie
des Sciences. In this writing, Lagrange compiled all of the progress that had been made in the
field of mechanics since the time of Newton and showed that all of known mechanics could be
boiled down to a few equations from which the remainder of mechanics equations could be
derived from. When the French Revolution ensued, Lagrange was forced to give up many of his
research duties and devote much of his time to lecturing at a university, Ecole Polytechnique. He
was known to be a poor lecturer according to Fourier. Lagrange died in 1808, just a week after
being awarded the Grand Croix of the Ordre Imperial de la Reunion and named to the Legion of
Honour and Count of the Empire by Napolean.
References:
[1] https://math.berkeley.edu/~robin/Lagrange/
[2] http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Lagrange.html
[3] http://www2.stetson.edu/~efriedma/periodictable/html/Lr.html