WPI Journal - The Magazine for WPI Alumni

SPRING 2012

The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)

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Wπ newsworthy NYTimes Lauds WPI Projects boost retention rate of STEM students NATIONWIDE, ABOUT 40 percent of students who plan to major in engineering and science end up switch- ing to another major, or fail to get a degree. Even students who excel in STEM courses in high school often wash out in college. So why do 74 per- cent of WPI undergraduates earn bachelor's degrees in four years, and 80 percent in six years? An article in the Education Life section of the Sunday New York Times explored why so many students who are strong in math and science during high school change their minds or drop out after the first year of college. The article, "Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It's Just So Darn Hard)," ran in the Nov. 6, 2011, print edition and was widely discussed online. One professor described the "math-science death march" that occurs in large freshman lecture classes at other schools. WPI's antidote was succinctly put: "Projects keep students engaged." Dynamic photos of an IMGD student project on human motion illustrated the point perfectly. Art Heinricher, dean of under- graduate studies and archi- tect of WPI's First Year Experi- ence programs, is quoted in the article and reveals the strengths of WPI's project- based approach. "That kind of early engagement, and let- ting them see they can work on something that is interest- ing and important, is a big deal. That hooks students." Apparently, it also hooked the attention of the Times. Whitcomb in the 1950s, explaining his revolutionary aircraft design principle known as the area rule well earned The "Leonardo da Vinci of American Aerodynamics" Richard Whitcomb posthumously joins Robert Goddard in National Aviation Hall of Fame I 14 Spring 2012 N 1947 CHUCK YEAGER, ƃ\LQJ WKH URFNHW SRZHUHG %HOO ; EHFDPH WKH ƂUVW SLORW WR DFKLHYH VXSHUVRQLF VSHHGV LQ OHYHO ƃLJKW %XW FURVVLQJ WKH VRXQG EDUULHU ZRXOG SURYH FRQVLGHUDEO\ PRUH GLIƂFXOW IRU MHW DLUFUDIW $V they approached the speed of sound, shockwaves formed along their wings and fuselages, causing drag and bleeding power. The solution to this vexing problem came in the form of a brilliant insight by aeronautical engineer Richard Whitcomb '43. Working in the transonic wind tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center, he discovered that at high speeds, drag is a function of an airplane's total cross-sectional area. Wings and tail assemblies increase that area locally, so Whitcomb reasoned if you narrow the fuselage where they stick out, you'll reduce the cross section and GUDJ +H FDOOHG LW WKH $UHD 5XOH DQG LW ƂQDOO\ PDGH VXSHUVRQLF ƃLJKW SUDFWLFDO

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