An undergraduate course in active magnetic levitation: bridging the gap

This paper describes an undergraduate course in active magnetic levitation that was designed to engage the student's interest while bridging the gap between the mathematical and the physical world. The objective of this course was to take the students through the complete design process of a nontrivial control system prior to their capstone design course. The course focused on a project where the students modeled, analyzed, simulated, designed, and implemented, an active magnetic levitation control system. The paper discusses the pedagogical objectives of the course, an overview of the course, and highlights of several of the labs in the course.