Check out David Allen discussing Europa exploration online here.
David Allen
David Allen, co-advised by Prof. Craig Woolsey, is working toward a viable mission to explore Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter that many believe is our best bet for finding life within the solar system. For more on David’s work, click on the tag ‘Allen‘ on this site.
McCue receives Rosenblatt Young Naval Engineer Award from ASNE
A few weeks ago I had the tremendous honor of receiving this award. Below are my remarks and a wonderful picture of my advisor Armin Troesch who presented the award, ASNE president Ronald Kiss, and me (photo provided by ASNE–thanks Jared!).
Thank you. I am going to keep this short as my toddler in attendance will likely express out loud what many might be feeling regarding long acceptance remarks. Mostly I want to say a handful of thank you’s. I have been lucky to have really great advising, as an undergraduate from the late Pat Curtiss and as a graduate student from Armin Troesch. Thank you Armin for being such a wonderful advisor and setting my career on the right path. I am also fortunate to have fantastic colleagues at Virginia Tech, particularly Al Brown who has diligently kept me out of trouble, and my amazing students who make me look good. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those program officers who have supported my work: Pat Purtell, Kelly Cooper, Bob Brizzolara, Eduardo Misawa, and Jay Falker. Every one of them took a chance on me being able to broaden my early research in ways that would support the ONR, NSF, and NASA missions, and I appreciate their faith in me, and my team’s abilities. I want to thank all the good folks at Carderock who have let me spend two summers in Bethesda working with Bill Belknap, Judah Milgram, Brad Campbell, and others, and a sabbatical at CCD enabled by Tim Coats, Dave Pogorzelski, and my personal favorite CCD researcher, my husband Charlie Weil. And I want to thank ASNE. ASNE has provided me leadership opportunities from the start of my career; opportunities to directly support or even work side by side with Captains, Admirals, Program Officers, SESs, industry leaders, and full Professors. ASNE leadership and staff have worked hard to make opportunities for students and young professionals. At this ASNE Day we have seen an exciting student program, put together by a team of young professionals led by Justin Stepanchick, showcasing exceptional student research. Wednesday night, the first ever Student Opportunities Committee, with direct representation to ASNE Council, was elected. ASNE is a warm place for students and young professionals and that, above all else, is why I am so honored to be receiving this Rosenblatt award for young naval engineers from ASNE. Thank you.
EUROPA team visits JPL Europa team
What do Europa geeks do for spring break? Go to JPL of course! Shown here is the VT EUROPA team: Craig Woolsey, David Allen, Matt Jones, and me pictured outside the Space Flight Operations Facility with our gracious host, Ray Crum. It was a wonderful, educational, and far too short visit. I hope we will be teaming with JPL on this more down the road!
Congratulations to Pankaj Kumar
Former post-doc Pankaj wrote in to say that his family has “been blessed with a baby boy.” Congratulations Pankaj!
Checking in with alum Qing Yang
I recently checked in with alum, Dr. Qing Yang who defended his PhD degree in December 2011 in the field of SPH simulation of fluid-structure interaction problems. He is now working as a naval architect in Kvaerner Field Development, a Norwegian oil service company specialized in EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) of offshore platforms. His main job is to analyze the hydrodynamic load on the offshore platform and its mooring systems and the dynamic response of offshore platforms. He also notes he is now engaged: congratulations Qing!
Pankaj Kumar
Pankaj Kumar recently finished up a 2 year post-doc with us and is off working as a research scientist in Singapore! We miss him, but are proud to tout the ground-breaking research he did in merging meshfree and meshed CFD approaches. To read more, click on the ‘Kumar‘ tag on this site.
John Gilbert
I hypothesize John, an LSU alum, came to Virginia Tech for the football as much as the research. John is working on fluid-structure interaction problems using meshed and meshfree methods building off the work of team alumni Qing Yang and Pankaj Kumar. For more on John’s work, click on the tag ‘Gilbert‘ on this site.
Evan Lee
SMART Evan Lee comes to us via a SMART fellowship enabling him to pursue his PhD on stepped high speed craft while also working for NAVSEA’s Combatant Craft Division. For more on Evan’s work, click on the tag ‘Lee‘ on this site.
Van Jones
Van’s PhD research focuses on using particle based CFD to study a host of naval engineering problems with an emphasis on computational aspects to particle-based codes. He is the resident computer scientist on the research team. For more details on Van’s work, click on the tag ‘Jones‘ on this site.
Michele Cooper
Michele is a PhD student studying approaches to verification and validation of code. This work has her covering the range from experimental, to numerical, to analytical work. Her broad background also maker her the team’s defacto expert on everything from theology to health and nutrition. Posts highlighting Michele’s work can be found by searching on the tag ‘Cooper‘ on this site.
NIAC EUROPA Project Press
The NIAC Europa project I’m working on with Profs Craig Woolsey and Bill Moore, graduate student David Allen, and undergraduate Matt Jones, has gotten some exciting press, including appearing in Time’s Techland website! To learn more about the project, visit http://www.unmanned.vt.edu/europa. This mission architecture image is adapted from a NASA JPL image of Europa’s ice crust and ocean.
SCraMP Map
Where are SCraMP v3.9 users? All over the world! If you haven’t tried it yet, the Small Craft Motion Program (SCraMP) is free in the iOS app store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scramp/id456343416?mt=8
New Release: FVdrills
The first version of FVdrills, a fishing vessel drill app developed in partnership with the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, just hit the app store last week! Check it out and let me know what you think.
Free-surface Flow Interactions with Deformable Structures Using an SPH-FEM Model
Yang, Q., Jones, V., and McCue, L., “Free-surface Flow Interactions with Deformable Structures Using an SPH-FEM Model,” Ocean Engineering, Volume 55, December, 2012, pp. 136-147.
A comparative analysis of personal electronic devices as data acquisition systems
McCue, L., “A comparative analysis of personal electronic devices as data acquisition systems,” 2012 Launch and Recovery Symposium, Maryland, November, 2012.
Lauren Hanyok, MS
On November 13, 2012, Lauren Hanyok successfully defended her thesis “Methods for calculating motion induced interruptions as applied to a space capsule after splashdown.” How’s that for the intersection of aerospace and ocean engineering! Congratulations Lauren!
Coupled SPH-FVM simulation within the OpenFOAM framework
Kumar, P., Yang, Q., Jones, V., and McCue, L., “Coupled SPH-FVM simulation within the OpenFOAM framework,” IUTAM Symposium on Particle Methods in Fluid Mechanics, Lyngby, Denmark, October, 2012.
SCraMP User Guide
Here is the current version of the Small Craft Motion Program (SCraMP) user guide.
Effectiveness of chaotic system measures for the validation of ship dynamics simulations
Cooper, M.and McCue, L., “Effectiveness of chaotic system measures for the validation of ship dynamics simulations”, 11th International Conference on the Stability of Ships and Ocean Vehicles, Athens, Greece, September 2012.
Putting vessel motion research into the hands of operators
McCue, L., “Putting vessel motion research into the hands of operators,” 11th International Conference on the Stability of Ships and Ocean Vehicles, Athens, Greece, September 2012.
Statistics of extreme slam responses and implications for small craft design
McCue, L.S., “Statistics of extreme slam responses and implications for small craft design,” Journal of Ship Production and Design, August, 2012, pp. 112-127.
A look at the impact of filter selection on characterization of vertical acceleration peaks
McCue, L.S., Jacobson, D., Weil, C., and Zseleczky, J., “A look at the impact of filter selection on characterization of vertical acceleration peaks,” Chesapeake Powerboat Symposium, Annapolis, Maryland, June 2012.
ComFish Inspired Improvements
The ComFish expo was a great experience for me! I’ve implemented two changes that directly relate to comments I got at ComFish. First–you now have the option for audible alarms–you can chose to have my lovely voice nag you directly, or the sound of a pot being hit with a wood spoon. (Hey, it’s a free app, I’m making my own sound effects!) Second–I made this universal for iPads. Many folks commented that they wished they had a bigger screen for this. One option is to hook up your iPhone to a monitor using an Apple VGA adapter (this only works for iPhone 4S and iPad2 or newer devices), another option is to use an iPad. So, now it should look quite a bit prettier on an iPad then it did before.
Qing Yang, PhD
Congratulations Dr. Qing Yang who successfully defended his PhD thesis in December, 2011! You can peruse Qing’s thesis here: SPH Simulation of Fluid-Structure Interaction Problems with Application to Hovercraft. For more on Qing’s various publications, click on the tag ‘Yang‘ on this site.
SCraMP v3.7
SCraMP 3.7 is in the app store (free, as always). Based on user requests, v3.7 has a compass and heading information. Also included, for my data acquisition users, is a choice of coordinate systems. The API implementation by Apple is an earth fixed coordinate system (some of you may have noticed this if you were playing with the app at large angles), so now you have a choice of a body-fixed system (i.e., what roll/pitch/yaw usually mean to boat or airplane people) or the earth-fixed system. Last, but certainly not least, the app now stores your preferences. For example–enter your boat’s beam once and be done with it; no more having to enter that every time you re-launch the app and want to use the GM estimate! As always, I’m eager to hear your feedback: scramp@vesseldynamics.com
Fish Radio
Laine Welch, wonderful woman that she is, generously invited me to discuss SCraMP with her on Fish Radio! If you want to catch more of Laine’s Fish Radio, check out the archive hosted by the Marine Conservation Alliance.
Modal analysis of the ice-structure interaction problem
Venturella, M., Patil, M. and McCue, L., “Modal analysis of the ice-structure interaction problem,” Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Volume 133, Issue 4, 2011. Originally presented at the 27th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2008), Estoril, Portugal, June, 2008.
Investigation of skirt dynamics of air cushion vehicles under non-linear wave impact using a SPH-FEM model
Yang, Q., Jones, V., and McCue, L., “Investigation of skirt dynamics of air cushion vehicles under non-linear wave impact using a SPH-FEM model,” 11th International Conference on Fast Sea Transportation (FAST), Honolulu, HI, September, 2011.
Uncertainty analysis for parametric roll using non-intrusive polynomial chaos
Wu, W., Bulian, G., and McCue, L., “Uncertainty analysis for parametric roll using non-intrusive polynomial chaos,” Proceedings of the 12th International Ship Stability Workshop, Washington DC, June, 2011.
A combined curriculum in aerospace and ocean engineering—38 years later
McCue, L. and Schetz, J., “A combined curriculum in aerospace and ocean engineering—38 years later,” 2011 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, paper number AC2011-2787, Vancouver, Canada, June 2011.
Experimental study on deformation of flexible wedge upon water entry
Cooper, M. and McCue, L., “Experimental study on deformation of flexible wedge upon water entry,” 9th Symposium on High Speed Marine Vehicles, Naples, Italy, May 2011.
The method of manufactured solutions applied to chaotic systems
Wu, W., McCue, L.S., and Roy, C., “The Method of Manufactured Solutions Applied to Chaotic Systems,” Nonlinear Dynamics, 2011, Volume 63, Issue 4, pp. 667-679.
Modeling ship equations of roll motion using neural networks
Xing, Z. and McCue, L.S., “Modeling ship equations of roll motion using neural networks,” Naval Engineers Journal, 2010, Volume 122, Issue 3, pp. 49-60.
Validation: a historical look and two suggested techniques
Story, W.R., Xing, Z., Wu, W., and McCue, L.S., “Validation: a historical look and two suggested techniques,” ITTC Workshop on Seakeeping – V&V for Non-linear Seakeeping Analysis-, Seoul, Korea, October, 2010.
Improved prediction of the threshold of surf-riding of a ship in steep following seas
Wu, W., Spyrou, K.J., and McCue, L.S., “Improved prediction of the threshold of surf-riding of a ship in steep following seas” Ocean Engineering, 2010, Volume 37, pp. 1103-1110.
SPH Boundary Deficiency Correction for Improved Boundary Conditions at Deformable Surfaces
Jones, V., Yang, Q., and McCue, L., “SPH Boundary Deficiency Correction for Improved Boundary Conditions at Deformable Surfaces,” Ship Science and Technology/Ciencia y Tecnología de Buques, Volume 4, Number 7, July 2010.
Concepts and conclusions from the 2010 Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute on Dynamics and Control of Manned and Unmanned Marine Vehicles
McCue, L., Sanjuan. M., and Hubbard, R., “Concepts and conclusions from the 2010 Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute on Dynamics and Control of Manned and Unmanned Marine Vehicles,” Ship Science and Technology/Ciencia y Tecnología de Buques, Volume 4, Number 7, July 2010.
Numerical Study on Fluid Structure Interaction Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and the Finite Element Method
Yang, Q., Jones, V., and McCue, L., “Numerical Study on Fluid Structure Interaction Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and the Finite Element Method” 5th International SPHERIC Workshop, Manchester UK, June, 2010.
Melnikov’s method applied to a multi-DOF ship model
Wu, W. and McCue, L., “Melnikov’s method applied to a multi-DOF ship model,” 11th International Ship Stability Workshop, Wageningen, The Netherlands, June, 2010.
Give them what they want: A look at student directed curriculum revision in a summer bridge camp
McCue, L., Waller, T., Crede, E., and Gaines, J., “Give them what they want: A look at student directed curriculum revision in a summer bridge camp,” ASEE-SE Annual Conference, Blacksburg, VA, April 2010.
Wan Wu, PhD
Congratulations to Wan Wu on successfully defending her PhD! Read it here: Analytical and Numerical Methods Applied to Nonlinear Vessel Dynamics and Code Verification for Chaotic Systems. For more on Wan’s work, click on the tag ‘Wu‘ on this site.
Taking a break from academia
Watford, B., Crumpton-Young, L., Davidson, S., McCue, L., and Schulz, N., “Taking a break from academia,” panel discussion with summary paper, 2009 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Austin, Texas, June, 2009.
Modeling, verification, and validation of chaotic systems with application to ship motions and the Lorenz oscillator
McCue, L.S., Wu, W., Story, W.R., and Xing, Z., “Modeling, verification, and validation of chaotic systems with application to ship motions and the Lorenz oscillator,” 2009 NSF Engineering Research and Innovation Conference, Honolulu, HI, June, 2009.
Parameter identification for two nonlinear models of ship rolling using neural networks
Xing, Z. and McCue, L.S., “Parameter identification for two nonlinear models of ship rolling using neural networks,” 10th International Conference on Stability of Ships and Ocean Vehicles, St. Petersburg, Russia, June 2009.
Rob Story, MS
W. Robert Story, MS thesis “Application of Lyapunov Exponents to Strange Attractors and Intact & Damaged Ship Stability,” successfully defended April 29, 2009. Recipient of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ ETD Master’s Thesis Award in the “Innovative Application of Technology to Scholarship in a Master’s Thesis” category. For more on Rob’s work, click on the tag ‘Story‘ on this site.
Application of the extended Melnikov’s method for single-degree-of-freedom vessel roll motion
Wu, W. and McCue, L.S. “Application of the extended Melnikov’s method for single-degree-of-freedom vessel roll motion” Ocean Engineering, 2008, Volume 35, Numbers 17-18, pp. 1739-1746.
Discussion on analytical approaches to the study of vessel dynamics
Alford, L., Banik, A., Belenky, V., Ellermann, K., Hashimoto, H., Maki, A., McCue, L., Neves, M.A.S., Rodriguez, C., Troesch, A., Umeda, N., and Weems, K., “Discussion on analytical approaches to the study of vessel dynamics – Outcomes of the two part minisymposium at the 2007 SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems –” Marine Technology, 2008, Volume 45, Number 4, pp. 211-220.
Nonlinear dynamics applied to the validation of computational methods
McCue, L.S., Story, W.R., and Reed, A.M., “Nonlinear dynamics applied to the validation of computational methods,” 27th Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics, Seoul, Korea, October, 2008.
Modal analysis of the ice-structure interaction problem
Venturella, M., Patil, M. and McCue, L., “Modal analysis of the ice-structure interaction problem,” OMAE2008-57099, Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2008), Estoril, Portugal, June, 2008.