Mechanical Engineering

Study of three-dimensional motion and control of fixed-wing aircraft and spacecraft. Development of general equations of unsteady motion, torque-free motion, small disturbance theory, modes of motion, attitude control of aerospace vehicles, classical and state-space methods for autopilot design.

Physical processes involved in nuclear fusion reactions. Physical and technological limitations of humanscale fusion energy. Fundamentals of plasma physics. Physics, limitations, and challenges of both magnetic and inertial confinement approaches. Current, upcoming, and future fusion experiments and reactors.