Creating a flexible, Web-enabled learning and research facility at the M.I.T. Towing Tank

Abstract

The M.I.T. Towing Tank has served as an invaluable research and educational platform for over 50 years. The hands-on learning experiences of towing tank tests have helped countless students to grasp the concepts and theories that are taught in the classroom environment. A recent upgrade of the M.I.T. Towing Tank increased the accuracy and capabilities of the facility, but also provided new capabilities to help create an Internet-based, distance learning tool. This new program has enabled M.I.T. to share its towing tank with students from other schools and universities via the Internet. The educational value of this tool was tested via an online set of experiments, performed by a partnered university, and has demonstrated the many benefits derived by this new capability. The upgrades to the facility have also increased the value of the M.I.T. Towing Tank for educational and commercial research. In recent years, the research interests at M.I.T. have significantly diversified, leading to new demands and capabilities being placed on the towing tank. As a result of the upgrades, the towing tank is now a highly flexible platform, on which a variety of research may be performed.