Dr. Alan Brown

Dr. Alan BrownPh.D., Massachussetts Institute of Technology
NAVSEA Professor of Naval Ship Design
313B Randolph Hall
(540) 231-4950
albrown5@vt.edu
http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~brown

Education

Ph.D., Marine Engineering, 1986, MIT; M.S., Ocean Engineering , 1973, MIT; M.S. Shipping and Shipbuilding Management, 1973, MIT; B.S., Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, 1971, MIT; B.A., Religion and Theater Arts, LaVerne College, 1978.

Professional History

1998-present, Professor, Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; 1993-1997, Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, MIT; 1992-1993, Associate Professor of Naval Construction and Engineering, MIT; 1973-1992, US Navy-CAPT, USN(ret)-Engineering Duty Officer assignments in ship operations, maintenance, repair, salvage, oil spill response, design, construction, ship systems R&D, and marine engineering in U.S. Navy ships, fleet staff, shipyards, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV).

Awards and Honors

2009 American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Jimmie Hamilton Award for Best Original Paper in 2008; 2007 ASNE Solberg Award - for outstanding achievement in Research related to Naval Engineering; 2007-2008 Dean's Certificate of Teaching Excellence; 2008 Dean's Award for Excellence in Service; SNAME Fellow

Professional Leadership

SNAME Fellow; Past SNAME Vice President (NE Region);Past ASNE National Council; Chairman, SNAME Adhoc Panel on Structural Design and Response in Collision and Grounding; Past-Chairman and Vice-Chairman, New England Section SNAME; Technical Advisor to US Delegation at International Maritime Organization for Bulk, Liquids and Gases (BLG) and Stability, Load Lines and Fishing Vessels (SLF) Subcommittees; Member, SNAME Adhoc Panel on Environmental Performance of Tankers; Member, SNAME Ship Design Committee; Member, SNAME Panel O-44, Marine Safety and Pollution Prevention; Liaison Member, Ship Structures Committee (SSC).

Research Interests

Naval ship and oil tanker design problems

1) Ship Design-Application of Multiattribute Value Theory (MAVT), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Pareto Genetic Algorithms (PGA), and smart knowledge bases in Multi-disciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) of the naval ship and oil tanker design problems. Includes consideration of mission, functional requirements, engineering and process (ship production).

Ship Design and Construction Process

Application of system dynamics to modeling and analyzing the naval ship design, acquisition and construction process.

Tanker Safety and Environmental Protection-Model

Development for estimating oil tanker environmental risk including human factors, grounding and collision scenario's, structural damage, oil outflow, mitigation and environmental impact.

Naval Ship Survivability-Assessment

Naval Ship Survivability-Assessment of ship intact stability, probabilistic damaged stability, shock, and weapons effects.

Links 

AOE People