For office use only:
SUBMISSION DATE: 9/12/11
AIAA TC APPROVED:
AIAA PMEC APPROVED:
AIAA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• COURSE PROFILE FORM •
Thank you for your interest in joining the prestigious group of instructors in the AIAA
Professional Development (PD) Program. Please refer to the AIAA Professional
Development Handbook for Instructors for detailed information and procedures for
course approvals and scheduling.
All courses are to be first submitted through and approved by an AIAA Technical Committee
(TC). This form as well as the TC Review/Approval Form is to be submitted to the AIAA
Professional Member Education Committee (PMEC) for final approval and possible scheduling.
Please note that the information asked for in this document is extremely important for us to
evaluate your proposal and promote your course, should it be accepted. Please be as complete
as possible. Feel free to attach additional sheets as necessary. If you have any questions,
please contact Patricia A. Carr, AIAA PD Staff Liaison, at 703/264-7523 or triciac@aiaa.org.
1) Course Title & General Information
A. Title of Course: Optimal Design in Multidisciplinary Systems
B. Type of Course Deliverable:
X
Short Course (Instructor-led)
Home Study Course
e-course (webinar, online course)
C. Course Length: 2 days
D. Course Level:
Fundamentals X
Intermediate X
Advanced
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E. Which AIAA Technical Committee approved this Course? Multidisciplinary Design
(please refer to Section 4-b of the interest codes. The “TC” indicates an active
technical committee)
E. At which AIAA technical conference(s) should this course be held in conjunction
with or is it best as a stand-alone course?
2) Instructor(s) Information
Please provide information for all instructors. Identify the Lead Instructor or Point of Contact.
If there are multiple instructors for this course, AIAA will communicate with the Lead
Instructor and that person will disseminate relevant information to the other instructors.
A. Lead Instructor/Point of Contact:
Name
Prabhat Hajela
Address 4010 Walker Labs
Address Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
City
Troy State New York Zip 12180
Telephone _518-276-6624 Fax 518-276-8062
Email address hajelap@rpi.edu
In a narrative/paragraph form, please provide a 50-word biography on each instructor.
Also please send a complete resume.
Prabhat Hajela, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy,
New York. He holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of
Technology, an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Iowa State University, an M.S. in
Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics & Astronautics from Stanford
University. Prior to joining RPI, he taught at the University of Florida for six years, and
has done research assignments at the NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Lewis
Research Center, U.S. Air Force Armament Labs, and at the University of California in
Los Angeles. Hajela is a Fellow of the AIAA, ASME and AeSI, and a recipient of the
AIAA MDO Award in 2004.
B. Other Instructors:
Name Dr. J.E. Sobieski
Address NASA Langley Research Center
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City
Hampton
State Virginia
Zip 23665
Telephone ______________________
Fax ______________________
Email address _________________________________________________________
In a narrative/paragraph form, please provide a 50-word biography on each instructor.
Also please send a complete resume.
Jaroslaw Sobieski, Ph.D., holds three degrees: a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Aeronautical
Engineering from the Technical University of Warsaw. Before joining the staff of NASA
Langley Research Center in 1979, he taught at the Technical University of Warsaw, St.
Louis University, and George Washington University. Dr. Sobieski is currently a Senior
Researcher at NASA Langley Research Center. He also teaches George Washington
University students at the NASA site. Dr. Sobieski received the AIAA MDO Award in
1996, and a NASA Medal for Exceptional Engineering Achievement in 1988.
Note: please adhere to the word or bullet limit. If it exceeds the limit, it is to our discretion to
edit.
Name ________________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________
City _______________________________ State ______________ Zip ___________
Telephone ______________________
Fax ______________________
Email address _________________________________________________________
In a narrative/paragraph form, please provide a 50-word biography on each instructor.
Also please send a complete resume.
Note: please adhere to the word or bullet limit. If it exceeds the limit, it is to our discretion to
edit.
3) Course Content Description
A. In narrative form, please provide brief symposia of this course (150 words or less).
When you are designing or evaluating a complicated engineering system such as an aircraft or
a launch vehicle, can you effectively reconcile the multitude of conflicting requirements,
interactions, and objectives? This course discusses the underlying challenges in such an
environment, and introduces you to methods and tools that have been developed over the
years.
You will be presented with a review of the state-of-the-art methods for disciplinary optimization
that exploit the modern computer technology for applications with large numbers of variables,
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design limitations, and many objectives. You will learn how to evaluate sensitivity of the design
to variables, initial requirements, and constraints, and how to select the best approach from
many currently available.
From that disciplinary level foundation, the course will take you to system level applications
where the primary problem is in harmonizing the local disciplinary requirements and design
goals to attain the objectives required of the entire system, and where performance depends on
the interactions and synergy of all its parts. In addition to imparting skills immediately applicable,
the course will give you a perspective on emerging methods and development trends.
B. In bullet format, please provide key topics/learning objectives of the course (no
more than 6 bullets).






Multidisciplinary design-components, challenges, and opportunities
Optimization methods and Sensitivity analysis
Decomposition in multidisciplinary design
Surrogate Modeling in Design
Soft computing methods in optimal design
Uncertainty in Multidisciplinary Design
C. In bullet format, please provide a detailed outline including subheadings (no more
than 30 lines).

Overview of MDO Methods
o Analysis
o Optimization
o Strategies

Review of Numerical Methods of Optimization
o Gradient and Non-Gradient Based Methods
o Methods of Sensitivity Analysis

MDO Solutions Through Decomposition
o Hierarchical & Non Hierarchical Methods
o Coordination Strategies
o Surrogate Modeling
o Complex Systems

Soft Computing Methods
o Genetic Algorithms and Other Heuristic Methods for Optimization
o Neural Networks/SVM for Function Approximation

Reliability Based Design
o Problems Formulations in Presence of Uncertainty
o Efficient Solution Strategies for Reliability Based Design
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Note: please adhere to the word or bullet limit. If it exceeds the limit, it is to our discretion to
edit.
4) Course Audience/Market
A. In narrative form, give a brief paragraph on the audience intended for this course
(50 words or less)
Note: please adhere to the word or bullet limit. If it exceeds the limit, it is to our discretion to
edit.
Design engineers and technical managers involved with preliminary or detailed design of
aerospace, mechanical, and other multidisciplinary engineering systems will find this material
applicable in their work environment. Advanced research students and research scholars in
academia and in research laboratories will also benefit from the topics covered in this course.
They would use this material as an entry point into possible areas of further research.
B. Which Professional Interests apply to your Course (see below for codes)?
• Indicate the Primary Professional Interest Market:
___0775__________
• Indicate the Secondary Professional Interest Market:
___0130__________
• Indicate the Tertiary Professional Interest Market
____710_________
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
(0100) Economics (TC)
(0105) History (TC)
(0110) Legal Aspects of Aeronautics and Astronautics (TC)
(0115) Management (TC)
(0120) Society & Aerospace Technology (TC)
(0130) Systems Engineering (TC)
(0135) Environmental Assurance/Compliance
(0140) Computer-Aided Enterprise Solutions (TC)
AEROSPACE SCIENCES
(0200) Aeroacoustics (TC)
(0210) Applied Aerodynamics (TC)
(0215) Astrodynamics (TC)
(0220) Atmospheric & Space Environment (TC)
(0225) Atmospheric Flight Mechanics (TC)
(0235) Fluid Dynamics (TC)
(0240) Guidance, Navigation & Control (TC)
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(0245) Aerodynamic Measurement Technology (TC)
(0250) Plasmadynamics & Lasers (TC)
(0255) Sounding Rockets
(0265) Thermophysics (TC)
(0270) Remote Sensing & Applications
(0275) Therodynamics
(0280) Computational Fluid Dynamics
(0285) Modeling & Simulation (TC)
(0290) Ground Testing (TC)
(0295) Meshing, Visualization & Computational Environments (TC)
AIRCRAFT & ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEMS
(0300) Air Transportation Systems (TC)
(0305) Aircraft Design (TC)
(0310) Aircraft Operations (TC)
(0315) Aircraft Safety
(0316) Balloon Technology (TC)
(0320) General Aviation Systems (TC)
(0325) Helicopter Design
(0330) Lighter-Than-Air Systems (TC)
(0335) Unmanned Systems
(0340) V/STOL Aircraft Systems (TC)
(0345) Marine Systems & Technology
(0350) Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
(0355) Hypersonic Systems
(0360) Flight Testing (TC)
(0365) Electronic Equipment Design
(0370) Ground Support Equipment
(0375) Aircraft Maintenance
(0380) Reliability
(0385) Test & Evaluation
(0390) Standards Engineering
(0395) Producibility & Cost Engineering
(0396) Production Engineering
(0397) Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems (TC)
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
(0400) Aerospace Electronics
(0405) Aerospace Maintenance
(0410) Intelligent Systems (TC)
(0420) Information & Command & Control Systems (TC)
(0425) Communications Systems (TC)
(0430) Computer Systems (TC)
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(0435) Digital Avionics Systems (TC)
(0440) Sensor Systems (TC)
(0445) Software Systems (TC)
(0450) Support Systems
(0455) System Effectiveness & Safety
(0460) Space Logistics
(0465) Micro/Nanotechnology
PROPULSION & ENERGY
(0500) Aerospace Power Systems (TC)
(0510) Electric Propulsion (TC)
(0515) Liquid Propulsion (TC)
(0520) Propellants and Combustion (TC)
(0525) Solid Rockets (TC)
(0530) Terrestrial Energy Systems (TC)
(0535) Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (TC)
(0540) Hybrid Rockets (TC)
(0545) Energetic Components & Systems (TC)
(0550) Gas Turbine Engines (TC)
(0555) High Speed Air Breathing Propulsion (TC)
(0560) Air Breathing Propulsion Systems Integration (TC)
SPACE & MISSILE
(0600) Life Sciences & Systems (TC)
(0605) Missiles Systems (TC)
(0610) Space Operations & Support
(0615) Microgravity & Space Processes (TC)
(0620) Space Systems (TC)
(0625) Space Transportation (TC)
(0630) Space Sciences & Astronomy
(0635) Space Automation & Robotics (TC)
(0640) Weapon Systems Effectiveness (TC)
(0645) Human Factors Engineering
(0650) Satellite Design, Integration & Test
(0655) Launch Operations
(0660) Laser Technology
(0665) Space Tethers (TC)
(0670) Space Colonization (TC)
(0675) Space Tourism
(0680) Terraforming
(0685) Space Resources (TC)
(0690) Space Architecture (TC)
(0695) Space Logistics (TC)
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Aerospace Design & Structures
(0701) Survivability (TC)
(0705) Design Engineering (TC)
(0710) Design Technology
(0735) Materials (TC)
(0745) Structural Dynamics (TC)
(0750) Structures (TC)
(0755) Adaptive/Smart Structures (TC)
(0760) Radar Absorbing Materials&Structures
(0770) Non-Deterministic Approaches (TC)
(0775) Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (TC)
C. Which Company Codes apply to your Course?
• Indicate the Primary Business Code:
__1A,1B, 1C,1D,___________
• Indicate the Secondary Business Code: ____2A_________
• Indicate the Tertiary Business Code:
____5A_________
AEROSPACE
MANUFACTURING
(1A) Military Aircraft
(1B)
Commercial
Aircraft
(1C) Business & Private
Aircraft
(1D) Helicopters
(1E) Missiles
(1F) Spacecraft
(1G)
Powerplant
&
Propulsion Systems
(1H) Avionic/Electronic
Component
&
Subsystems
(1I) Electro/Mechanical
Systems
(1J)
Hydraulic
/Pneumatic
Systems
(1K) Flight Controls &
Instrumentation
(1L)
Other
Parts/Components
& Subsystems
(3B) Business & General
Aviation
SUPPLIERS
GOVERNMENT
(2A)
Department of
Defense
(2A1) US Army
(2A2) US Air Force
(2A3) US Navy
(2A4) US Marine Corps
(2B) NASA
(2C) Other Federal, State
& Local
(2D)
Non-US
Government
(2D1) Non-US Military
AIR
TRANSPORTATION
(3A) Trunk, Regional &
International
(4A) Materials
(4B) Engineering
Manufacturing
Equipment
(4B1) Computers
(4B2) Software
or
SERVICES
(5A)
Consulting
or
Government
Service Contracting
(5B) Science, Research &
Developing,
or
Contracting
(5C) Education
(6) Others Allied to this
Field
page 8
C. What other technical societies, companies, government agencies, conferences
attendee lists, requests for reprints, departmental or company mailing lists, etc.
would likely find your course relevant to their members’/companies’ areas of
interest. (please list)
D. Can you provide mailing lists? No
E. List any other courses being offered that, to your knowledge, are similar to this
course or that you think may compete with the course. (List their titles, and
instructors.) Nothing that competes directly but a former co-instructor Dr. G.N
Vanderplaats teaches a course in Design Optimization through his company that has
elements of this course included in the curriculum.
5) Course Content Life Cycle/Relevance
What is the likely development process and expected life cycle of this course? Is this
course time sensitive? How much funding has there been and expected?
…Please provide a brief summary of the life cycle and trend of this topic.
The field of MDO has been robust as is evidenced by the continuing presence of a large
number of researchers worldwide working in one or another aspect of this discipline. In
addition to annual AIAA sponsored conferences in the field (MDO Specialist Meeting
and the AIAA MDO Meeting in alternate years), there is also an International
Conference on Structural & Multidisciplinary Optimization that is held every two years.
Two other smaller competing conferences, based in UK and France respectively, also
attract researchers in this field.
Companies have moved to embrace the results of this research and are interested in
having their research engineers and staff trained more thoroughly in the field. This type
of demand has produced the most number of attendees in our course in its previous
offerings. As with any other field, the subject matter of interest changes with shifting
focus, and the course has attempted to maintain its relevance in this fast moving field.
6) Course Requirements
A. Is there a textbook required with your course? If so, provide author, title list price
and publisher as well as any purchase discounts that AIAA could obtain in
conjunction with this course.
No textbook is required for the course.
B. Are there any computer requirements for this course? If so, please give full
information. Have you designed any software programs to accompany your course?
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If so, please describe as fully as possible.
AIAA makes notes available electronically and it helps students with computers to
follow along and annotate as required.
C. Are there any other requirements, other than course notes, that students will need to
complete the course?
No
7) Testimonials
We use testimonials, or endorsements, from qualified, eminent individuals for
promotional use. These endorsements are solicited by you, and are important to attract
potential students. Please provide us with their names, titles, business affiliations,
addresses, and telephone numbers.
8) Originality &ITAR Compliant
What other educational organizations or training groups you are offering your course?
Only through the AIAA - Professor Hajela also teaches this course infrequently as a
graduate course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
A. CLEARANCE
The accompanying notes/handouts, books, and/or lecture are UNCLASSIFIED (for
public release) and have been cleared for release by the appropriate agencies, company,
or government. The course materials have been determined to be in the public domain
as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation.
B. NO-INFRINGEMENT STATEMENT
Please make unambiguous the copyright status of any published material, course notes,
or handouts, by signing the following affidavit assuring us that it contains no
copyright-infringing material.
The published material, course notes, or handouts are represented as original work by
the instructor(s). No portion of the material is covered by a prior copyright or for any
portion that may be copyrighted, the author has obtained permission for its use.
The instructor owns the course materials and contents.
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C. AIAA Instructor Agreement
I have read the AIAA Professional Development Handbook and will comply with the
contents of the Handbook and to the processes and procedures set forth by the AIAA
Board of Directors and the AIAA Professional Member Education Committee.
Signature of Lead Instructor
Date
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