ESP Biography

MICHAEL PRICE, Avionics engineer and audio hobbyist

Major: Not available.

College/Employer: Aurora Flight Sciences

Year of Graduation: 2008

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I'm a Masters student in the MIT EE/CS program. I've also studied thermal-fluids engineering and sustainable development. Sometime in 2009 I'll graduate and start working at Aurora Flight Sciences, a small company that makes UAVs and space satellites. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Aside from that, I'm a bit of a music fanatic. I build speakers and other audio equipment in my spare time. I consider audio an artful hobby that I don't try and turn into an objective research topic, or a business. I don't build professional grade equipment because at some point I give up on trying to improve things and just enjoy the music. Anyways, I look forward to sharing my interests with you at Splash, Spark, and HSSP.

I'm a previous director of Splash (2005), chairman of ESP (2007), and webmaster. As one of the many devoted volunteers that run ESP, I'd be happy to hear your feedback or suggestions on anything we do. If you see me, just come up and talk to me! I'll probably be wearing one of my 8 ESP T-shirts.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S2369: Time and Frequency in Droplet Spring 2009 (May. 01, 2009)

A signal is a function that conveys information, like sound or video. Get a head start on one of the most important concepts in engineering by seeing firsthand how we can interpret signals as functions of either time or frequency. We will use audio signals (artificial effects, music, and your voices) as examples.

E2302: Build Your Own Headphone Amplifier in Spark! Spring 2009 (Mar. 07, 2009)

Like the Splash workshop bearing the same name, this will be a hands-on introduction to analog electronics. A headphone amplifier uses the same type of circuit building blocks as almost everything else, and it might noticeably improve the sound quality of your headphones. I'll teach you some basic ideas about how circuits work, and demonstrate how to build and test them using equipment at the MIT Edgerton Center. Each of my brave students will receive a kit of electronic parts and documentation explaining the operation of the circuit, step by step. Hopefully, you'll all finish and take home working headphone amplifiers. IMPORTANT: Unless you are receiving financial aid, a $10 lab fee (to be turned in at the beginning of the class) will be required to cover the cost of the components.

H1555: Build Your Own Headphone Amplifier in Splash! 2008 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2008)

I enjoy do-it-yourself (DIY) audio because you can build loudspeakers and electronics with immediate, enjoyable results. We can't build a pair of speakers in a short Splash class (wait until Spring HSSP for that); but we can start small. A headphone amplifier uses the same type of circuit building blocks as many other electronic devices. And it might noticeably improve the sound quality of your headphones! I'll teach you how to build and test simple circuits using lab equipment at the MIT Edgerton Center. We'll see how you can use simple filters to change the tone of sounds, and how they allow us to build accurate (or at least good sounding) speakers. Each brave student will receive a kit of electronic parts, from which you'll build and keep a battery powered headphone amp.

H1407: Subwoofer Project in HSSP Summer 2008 (Jun. 29, 2008)

There's a lot of science behind audio systems, even just the woofers. I'll teach you how speakers work, demonstrate the common types of distortion they produce, and discuss how to avoid them. We will look at signals (like music) in the frequency domain and see the effects of signal processing, both intentional and unintentional. With all this science in mind, we should be able to design, build and analyze a high-fidelity subwoofer. It might be impressive. This course is not about electronics, but I can help students with individual electronics projects.

H1143: Audio and Speaker-building in Spark! Spring 2008 (Mar. 08, 2008)

You might be surprised at the quality of speakers you can build if you know what you're doing. Join us for a hands-on ride through the fundamentals of electronics and acoustics, and the process of loudspeaker design and construction. We will learn about the design and application of each piece of an audio system, most likely focusing on the speakers. With the aid of computer assisted measuring equipment, we will analyze the frequency response and distortion of speaker drivers, and understand their effect on what we hear. Then we design our own speakers - driver selection, crossover networks, and enclosure design - and build them in class! We will help you arrange to duplicate the class project or build any other audio equipment on your own.

H1142: Audio and Speaker-building in HSSP Spring 2008 (Mar. 15, 2008)

blooog in TEST (2012)

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Linear Systems and Audio in SPLASHONWHEELS (2008)

What's really happening when you adjust the equalizer settings on an MP3 player? Audio signals, like any other information stream, ...

Delve test class in DELVE (2008)

Watch Delve intently to see whether the classes can survive with only one teacher each.

Audio Electronics in HSSP (2007)

During spring HSSP, we build speakers, and we imagine that the rest of the components of an audio system are ...

Audio and Speaker-building in HSSP (2007)

You might be surprised at the quality of speakers you can build if you know what you're doing. Join me ...

Build Your Own Headphone Amplifier in SPLASH (2007)

I enjoy do-it-yourself (DIY) audio because you can build loudspeakers and electronics with immediate, enjoyable results. We can't build a ...

Homebuilt Hi-fi and Music Lounge in SPLASH (2007)

I'm an audio hobbyist - I like to build my own stereo systems from the ground up. In this short ...

Homebuilt Hi-fi and Music Lounge in SPLASH (2007)

I'm an audio hobbyist - I like to build my own stereo systems from the ground up. In this short ...

Homebuilt Hi-fi and Music Lounge in SPLASH (2007)

I'm an audio hobbyist - I like to build my own stereo systems from the ground up. In this short ...

Acoustics in FIREHOSE (2006)

Loudspeaker design series part 3... When you watch a movie or listen to music, you don't hear the sound straight ...

Audio and Speaker-building in HSSP (2006)

Join me for a hands-on ride through the fundamentals of electronics and acoustics, and the process of loudspeaker design and ...

Audio and Speaker-building in HSSP (2006)

Join me for a hands-on ride through the fundamentals of electronics and acoustics, and the process of loudspeaker design and ...

Construction Techniques in FIREHOSE (2006)

Loudspeaker design series part 2... When you buy a $2000 pair of tower speakers, probably $250 went into the drivers ...

Crossover Design in FIREHOSE (2006)

Loudspeaker design series part 1... The circuits inside speakers are far from magic "black boxes," they're actually very simple passive ...

Audio Systems and Loudspeakers in SPLASHONWHEELS (2006)

Everyone loves listening to music, but few understand the exciting technology that makes it all possible. I will explain the ...

Build Your Own Headphone Amplifier in SPLASH (2006)

I enjoy do-it-yourself (DIY) audio because you can build loudspeakers and electronics with immediate, enjoyable results. We can't build a ...

Robotics: Getting Started; Feedback and Control in SPLASH (2006)

This is a class for the people interested in building a robot of their own, or in seeing how you ...

Robotics: Perception and Planning in SPLASH (2006)

Much of the trouble with making "intelligent" robots is in getting them to map and navigate their environments. We're going ...

Audio Systems and Loudspeakers in SPLASH (2005)

Everyone loves listening to music, but few understand the exciting technology that makes it all possible. I will explain the ...

Introductory Robotics in SPLASH (2005)

Would you like to know how a robot works and how robotics combine computers, sensors, circuits, and clever engineering to ...

Introductory Robotics in SPLASH (2005)

Would you like to know how a robot works and how robotics combine computers, sensors, circuits, and clever engineering to ...

Whirlwind Electronics Lab in SPLASH (2005)

If you're wondering what makes modern electronics tick, or want to see what a lab looks like, or you're interested ...