Alan Brown

NAVSEA Professor of Naval Ship Design

Research Expertise

Naval Engineering and Ship Design

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

Co-Director of Naval Engineering Education Center, 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 and Commercial Ship Design Tools and Methods

Application of Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Pareto Genetic Algorithms (PGA), system architecture, operational effectiveness models and smart knowledge bases in Multi-disciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) of the naval ships and other ship design problems. Includes consideration of mission, functional requirements, engineering, cost, risk, 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 scenarios, structural damage, oil outflow, mitigation, and environmental impact.

Naval Ship Survivability-Assessment

Naval Ship Survivability-Assessment of ship intact stability, probabilistic damaged stability, shock, underwater explosion (UNDEX), and other weapons effects.

Marine Engineering

Diesel and gas turbine engine performance and environmental considerations. Integration of marine engineering systems in the total ship design considering performance, reliability, vulnerability, cost, risk, and environment. Integrated power systems.