Departmental News
06.03.2009
Eight AOE Graduate and Undergraduate Students Awarded Virginia Space Grant Consortium Fellowships/Scholarships
Eight AOE graduate and undergraduate students were awarded Virginia Space Grant Consortium Fellowships and Scholarships for the upcoming 2009-2010 academic year. The graduate students receiving Fellowships are Joshua Ellis, Kimberly Oyerly, and Christopher Rock. Undergraduates receiving Scholarships are Michael Creaven, Steven Day, Michelle Perez, Robert Robertson, and Skylar Stephens. The students will be involved in projects ranging from space vehicle design and control, to high speed aircraft propulsion and fluid dynamics, to biomechanics and nanomaterials. Kimberly Oyerly will be working with Dr. Sultan in studying formation flying of spacecraft. Joshua Ellis and Michelle Perez will be working with Dr. Hall on the dynamics of tethered spacecraft and on satellite constellation performance, respectively. Robert Robertson will be working with Dr. Shinpaugh on characterizing the effects of magnetic fields on spacecraft attitude determination. Christopher Rock will be studying scramjets with Dr. Schetz, and Michael Creaven will study sonic boom mitigation with Dr. Simpson. Steven Day will be working with Dr. Philen on a biomechanics project for assisted neck motion under high g-forces, while Skylar Stephens will study the thermal conductivity of nanocomposites with Dr. Seidel.
 |
|
06.02.2009
Wesley Slemp wins second place in AIAA HRS Young Professional Paper Competition
Wesley Slemp, a National Defense Science and Engineering Fellow and Doctoral student in the department, received 1^st runner up for the Hampton Roads section, AIAA Young Professional Paper Completion for his paper entitled “Interlaminar Stresses by Sinc Method Based on Interpolation of the Highest Derivative.” Efficient calculation of interlaminar stresses in composites and hybrid material systems, especially when subjected to impact loads, is crucial for their aerospace applications. The paper was published in the December 2008 issue of the /AIAA Journal/. Each year, the Young Professionals Committee of the AIAA Hampton Roads Section holds a paper competition to recognize outstanding on-the-job technical accomplishments of its young members. To be eligible, the first-authored paper must have been either published or accepted for publication in an archival and refereed publication in the past 6 years and originally submitted while the first author was an AIAA member under the age of 35. Wesley is an alumnus of the department.
The research was guided by Dr. Rakesh K. Kapania, the Mitchell Professor of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering.
 |
|
05.04.2009
Chris Roy was recently named an Engineering Faculty Fellow
Chris Roy, Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, was recently named an Engineering Faculty Fellow by Virginia Tech's College of Engineering. The award carries a $5000 account for three years to be used for supporting his research. Professor Roy, an expert in the areas of verification and validation for scientific computing and computational fluid dynamics, received a Department of Energy Early Career award in 2005, and in 2006 he earned a DOE Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
 |
|
05.04.2009
Michael Philen receives Certificate of Teaching Excellence
Michael Philen, Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace and
Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech, recently received a Certificate of
Teaching Excellence from Virginia Tech's College of Engineering.
Professor Philen teaches Vehicle Vibration and Control and Applied
Numerical Methods and manages the Aerospace Structures and Materials
Laboratory. On one of his evaluations, the student wrote, “Philen Rocks!”
 |
|
04.29.2009
AOE Sophomore, Rosa Avalos, receives a Virginia Tech Diversity Program Fellowship
Rosa Avalos received the fellowship from the Virginia Tech Diversity Program for the Summer 2009. She will be working with a team of three faculty members and two post-doctoral fellows in the Multidisciplinary Analysis and Design Center for Advanced Vehicle on the design of an aircraft with a Truss-Braced Wing. The research; being led by Dr. Joseph A. Schetz, is being conducted in response to a challenge given by the Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, Dr. Dennis Bushnell, to significantly increase the lift to drag ratio for future transport aircraft. Rosa, working with Dr. Rakesh K. Kapania and Dr. Manav Bhatia, a post-doctoral fellow in the department, will be helping with developing the structural model for the truss-supported wing using the finite element method. The structural model will be used for shape and size optimization, and aeroelastic studies.
 |
|
04.24.2009
AOE Sophomore receives a fellowship through the Virginia Tech Diversity Program
AOE Sophomore, Greg Annisette is awarded a fellowship through the
Virginia Tech Diversity Summer Program. The fellowship will enable his
undergraduate research on launch and recovery. His specific project
seeks to advance the state of the art in using energy-based methods to
predict quiescent periods for safe launch and recovery of an autonomous
sea surface vehicle, and the methodology is analogous to historical work
done for launch and recovery of helicopters from ships.
 |
|
04.23.2009
AOE Alumna, Laura Freeman, named 2009 Graduate School Woman of the Year
Laura Freeman, AE 05, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Statistics. In addition to this recognition as Graduate Woman of the Year, she has held the Amelia Earhart Fellowship, is President-Elect of the Graduate Student Assembly, and has been awarded a Virginia Space Grant Consortium Graduate Research Fellowship for her work on analyzing reliability data, with application to aircraft engines.
 |
|
04.14.2009
Adam Cowling wins award at the AIAA Regional Student conference
Adam Cowling, a VT/NIA graduate student in Aerospace Engineering, won second place in the Graduate division at the AIAA Regional Student conference. The conference for the mid-atlantic region was held this year at Old Dominion University on 3-4 April 2009. Adam won for his research paper titled Pitch-Control Predictor-Corrector and Neural Network Ascent Guidance. The research was advised by Mr. Jeffrey S. Robinson at NASA Langley Research Center. Adam is working towards his Masters degree from VT AOE via NIAs distance learning program.
 |
|
04.14.2009
Undergraduate Students win award at the AIAA Regional Student conference
Logan Thomas, Craig Sossi, and Lawrence Hale, undergraduate students in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, won third place in the Undergraduate Team division at the AIAA Regional Student conference. The conference for the mid-atlantic region was held this year at Old Dominion University on 3-4 April 2009. The team won for their research paper titled Reliability in Unmanned Aerial Systems. The research was advised by Drs. Marchman and Woolsey from the AOE department.
 |
|
03.10.2009
Research Scientist Position
A Research Scientist Position is available in the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech, Structures Laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. Rakesh K. Kapania.
The research scientist will conduct original research in the areas including, but not limited to, 1) Analysis and Design of unitized structures; 2) study aeroelasticity of damaged wings; 3) Aeroelastic Analysis of Membrane Wings. The successful candidate may also be assigned to assist graduate and undergraduate students with research as needed. Over the tenure of the appointment the research scientist will assist the supervisor in developing and sustaining new projects in areas including those listed above. The aforementioned research will be conducted primarily in the laboratory facilities of the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The research scientist will participate in writing proposals to federal agencies such as NASA, ONR, NSF, AFOSR, and DARPA, project reports for funded research, and disclosures on intellectual properties arising from research activities, and explore commercial potential of research outputs. The research scientist may serve as a principal investigator and is expected to disseminate results from research efforts through peer-reviewed journal publications and conference presentations.
The position requires a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering with a minimum of 5 years of experience in areas such as computational structural mechanics, fracture mechanics, meshless methods, damage mechanics, impact response, and optimization. Skill in computer programming, especially, parallel processing, is highly desirable. The candidate should have demonstrated creativity, independence, high motivation, and good communication skills. Strong work habits and the ability to work independently as well as within a research group are required. The candidate should have demonstrated experience in developing and conducting original research, and the versatility to work in various research areas.
Persons with lower experience may be considered at a rank of Post-Doc associate.
Salary Range: 65000-75000, with benefits
Work Location: VA Tech campus, Blacksburg, VA
Terms: Special Research Faculty Rank of Senior Scientist, Restricted, CY, one-year appointment, renewable based on availability of funds and satisfactory performance.
Virginia Tech, the land-grant university of the Commonwealth, is located in Blacksburg, adjacent to the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. The University has a total student enrollment of 29,000, with approximately 7,250 students in the College of Engineering. Additional information about the department can be found at http://www.aoe.vt.edu. Additional information about Blacksburg, Virginia can be found at http://www.bev.net.
Review of applications and nominations will begin on March 17st, 2009 and will continue until the position is filled. Interested persons should apply on the Internet at http://jobs.vt.edu (posting number 090071) along with a cover letter, current curriculum vita and the names and addresses of three references. All nominations and inquiries can be sent via email to:
Prof. Rakesh Kapania, rkapania@vt.edu.
Virginia Tech is the recipient of a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award to increase the participation of women in academic science and engineering careers.
Virginia Tech has a strong commitment to the principle of diversity and, in that spirit, seeks a broad spectrum of candidates including women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities desiring accommodations in the application process should notify Mrs. Wanda Foushee at (540) 231-9057.
 |
|
01.30.2009
AOE Welcomes Dr. Robert Canfield
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering department is pleased to welcome Professor Robert Canfield. He is the author of 34 journal articles, 71 conference papers, and a textbook. His research interests include structural optimization, multidisciplinary analysis and design methods, including reliability-based design, structural dynamics and controls, and aeroelasticity. His computational methods, including a design approximation for structural vibrations, have been incorporated in commercial software applications, such as MSC Nastran. He previously worked in research and development for the Air Force for 24 years. He was on the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) faculty 19931996 and 20002008. He was the deputy department head of Aeronautics and Astronautics at AFIT from 20022004. From 19992000 he was the Program Manager for Computational Mathematics at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). His program funded basic research in computational fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, plasma physics, combustion and laser chemistry, imaging, quantum computing, and multidisciplinary design. LtCol Canfield was AFOSR Director of Policy and Integration, 19981999, where he directed planning, financial management, support, and administration of the AF $300M basic research program.
 |
|
11.25.2008
AOE Welcomes Dr. Gary Don Seidel
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering department is pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Gary Don Seidel. Dr. Seidel's research interests are centered on the theoretical development and computational implementation of multiscale models for the determination of the coupled mechanical, thermal and electrical behavior of polymer-based carbon nanotube nanocomposites, and on the development of multiscale damage evolution models for capturing the progressive failure of nanocomposites under mechanical loading to assess the corresponding perturbations in the non-mechanical properties. Dr. Seidel was previously a postdoctoral research associate in the Texas Institute for Intelligent Bio-Nano Materials and Structures for Aerospace Vehicles (TiiMS) as well as a lecturer in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M. University.
 |
|
11.12.2008
AOE Welcomes Dr. Mazen Farhood.
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering department is pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Mazen Farhood. Dr. Farhood's
areas of current research interest include cooperative control in complex
environments, controlled maneuvers and tracking along trajectories,
semidefinite programming, and model reduction. He was previously a
scientific researcher in the Delft Center for Systems and Control, Delft
University of Technology, The Netherlands. Prior to that, he was a
postdoctoral fellow in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia
Institute of Technology.
 |
|
10.30.2008
Jonathan Hall wins NASA International Year of Astronomy award
NASA has selected Aerospace Engineering junior Jonathan Hall for the International Year of Astronomy Award, which makes it possible for Jonathan to participate in the Student Ambassadors program for 2009. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations have proclaimed 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy to spread awareness of astronomys contributions to society and culture, stimulate young peoples interest in science, portray astronomy as a global peaceful endeavor, and nourish a scientific outlook in society. Specifically the award is granted by NASA to individuals to participate in activities both at their schools and in the greater community to advance astronomy and spread interest in NASA and space related fields.
 |
|
08.18.2008
Dr. Philen receives Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award
Michael Philen, assistant professor of aerospace and ocean engineering (AOE) at Virginia Tech, has recently received the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award.
According to the ORAU website, the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards provide seed money for research by junior faculty at ORAU member institutions. These awards are intended to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty and result in new funding opportunities. In 2008, ORAU received 107 applications and awarded 30 grants.
Philens general research interests are in adaptive structures, smart materials, bio-inspired systems and materials, and structural dynamics and control.
You can read more about it at
http://www.eng.vt.edu/news/article.php?niid=1316
 |
|
08.12.2008
AOE Alumna Shines at NASA
Sherrica Newsome, An AOE student has been selected as an operations manager for the 2008 NASA Academy at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She was accepted for into the NASA Academy at NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center last Summer.
The NASA Academy is a unique summer experience at the university level for developing future leaders of the U.S. Space Program.
You can read more about NASA's Space Flight Center at the following url:
http://www.tidewaternews.com/articles/2008/08/11/latest_news/breaking90.txt
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
