Background:
Advances in marine engineering have been occurring at the Frank Batten College of Engineering & Technology for quite some time, lending credence to the establishment of an Institute dedicated to the field. According to Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology and Director of the Naval Engineering and Marine Systems Institute at ODU, Dr. Jennifer Michaeli, a naval architect and marine engineer with significant professional experience working for the Department of Navy's naval labs and the marine shipbuilding industry prior to her arrival to ODU, there have been numerous discrete research projects led by faculty and performed to the benefit of the United States Navy (USN) and local shipyards. Along with Dr. Michaeli' arrival, several additional faculty have been hired to expand the marine engineering faculty already in position at the College. Additionally, ODU has developed an active student chapter of the American Society of Naval Engineers, a group strongly supported by the Tidewater chapter of its parent organization, for which Dr. Michaeli and Dr. Tony Dean are the faculty advisors. ODU's marine engineering curriculum along with close coordination with local marine industry for experiential internships produces a robust pipeline of engineering graduates who are being successfully placed within the industry.
Function:
Such benchmarks set the stage for the newest institute at ODU Engineering, the Naval Engineering and Marine Systems Institute (NEMSI), an entity within the College seeking to increase faculty collaboration, to strengthen industrial and government relations, and to facilitate collaboration among all constituents. It is the goal of NEMSI that these efforts will grow sponsor-funded research in areas related to ship design and shipbuilding as well as vessel operations, maintenance and modernization, along with dedicated marine engineering student scholarships, internships and professional placement opportunities.
Home Base:
Based in the Marine Dynamics Laboratory in the brand-new, state-of-the-art Engineering Systems Building, NEMSI has driven an array of research projects thus far and, at the same time, is glimpsing the potential of the Institute with regards to the marine engineering industry.
Features of the Marine Dynamics Laboratory are paramount in conducting maritime-related research projects. The unique exploration space combines simulated testing capabilities, mirroring those of the harsh marine environment, with physical, hands-on lab testing. For example, the ship stability simulator allows students and researchers to study the righting, rolling and stability effects of flooding on various compartments of a vessel within a controlled environment. The other, much more commanding, presence in the Marine Dynamics Laboratory is the multi-DOF (degrees of freedom) simulator, which can measure the dynamic responses of ship structure and shipboard equipment and personnel in the harsh marine environment. What is more, results for the experiments can then be verified using computational modeling.
Intersection of Learning and Doing:
Rooted firmly in our learning paradigm of LD2, NEMSI acts as the pipeline from STEM learner to industry. Joining forces with the newly minted College of Continuing Education and Professional Development, NEMSI has begun inspiring maritime novices through summer camp involvements. Freshmen entering Engineering Fundamentals Division get a taste of what the industry has to offer through the underwater robotics coursework offered. Additional options available for marine engineering and naval architecture learning with the College, on top of the previously mentioned student organization and six-week introductory module, include a marine engineering minor for undergraduate engineering students to complement their existing coursework in the disciplines of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, modeling and simulation, and engineering technology, as well as a marine engineering certificate program for graduate students. Faculty and students alike are working on futuristic research involving directed energy weapons for the Navy, wave buoy energy and autonomous unmanned marine vessels that will position ODU at the forefront on these emerging technology areas.
What the Future of NEMSI Holds:
Already able to boast a substantially healthy marine engineering program within ODU, it is the hope of NEMSI director Dr. Jennifer Michaeli that the program and Institute continue to flourish. Serving as the channel that bridges the gap between studying the field and those presently in the field, by focusing the attention of research projects towards the needs of industry, great strides have been made in strengthening the relationships ODU has with government agencies and other corporate partners. Inside the walls of ODU, the faculty-led research, the active student body and the recurring placement of graduates into marine and naval industry positions further excites Dr. Michaeli to the possibilities of what may come for NEMSI.