Welcome back. I hope everyone is having a smooth end of the semester. In March 2020, I wrote the following research paper on America’s changing foreign policy after World War I. Although I study engineering in college, I have an enduring fascination for history, which I hope this essay captures. The Extent to which World War I Changed American Foreign Policy When World … [Read more...] about Another Break from Engineering: The Impact of WWI on American Foreign Policy
An Introduction to Flight
Lyapunov Functions: Proving the Stability of Equilibrium Points of Dynamical Systems
Welcome back. In today’s blog post, I am excited to discuss Lyapunov functions, which can prove the stability of equilibrium points of a broad class of dynamical systems, including nonlinear systems. Lyapunov functions generalize the concept of energy from mechanical systems. If a pendulum is damped, then its downward position is a stable equilibrium point, and its energy will … [Read more...] about Lyapunov Functions: Proving the Stability of Equilibrium Points of Dynamical Systems
Hydrodynamic Stability: 2D Stability Analysis in Primitive Variables
Welcome back. I hope everyone is having a wonderful first week after spring break and is doing well going into the final stretch of the semester. In today’s blog post, I want to discuss how we could perform linear stability analysis using primitive velocity and pressure variables instead of intricately-derived streamfunction or vorticity quantities. One downside of primitive … [Read more...] about Hydrodynamic Stability: 2D Stability Analysis in Primitive Variables
Hydrodynamic Stability: Absolute and Convective Instability
Welcome back. In our hydrodynamic stability series so far, we have explored methods for determining whether a flow is linearly stable or unstable. Today, we will augment these discussions by investigating two different types of instability: absolute and convective. If a flow is absolutely unstable, then a small perturbation at a particular location will grow both upstream and … [Read more...] about Hydrodynamic Stability: Absolute and Convective Instability
A Break from Engineering: The Art of the Romantic Era (c. 1830-1875)
Welcome back. In today’s blog post, let us take a break from engineering entirely and learn about the art of the Romantic Era in Europe and North America. This is an essay that I wrote as a high school sophomore in AP European History class, which to this day is the most difficult class I have ever taken. This class taught me to study hard and I owe my success in university to … [Read more...] about A Break from Engineering: The Art of the Romantic Era (c. 1830-1875)