|
The Southern California region is presently experiencing large
population growth and business growth — particularly
so because of greatly expanded trade with other Pacific-rim
nations. As residents, we are anxious to maintain a high standard
of air and water quality, and to anticipate the safe and efficient
movement of people and goods across the region.
On a national and global scale, evidence is accumulating
that man's presence has begun to affect world climate, and
possibly the fundamental circulations of the atmosphere and
the oceans themselves. As a nation, we must search for additional
sources of affordable energy, search for a means for decreasing
the rate of accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere, and search
for means to properly care for our coastal environment.
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Faculty are specifically
involved in many of these critical problem areas. In the field
of coastal ecology, for example, programs are underway to
quantify re-suspension of toxic material on the coastal sea-bed
by wave motions, and to quantify the further redistribution
of such materials by turbulent mixing and transport by currents.
Laboratory experiments are now being carried out to study
fundamental circulation patterns in coastal seas such as the
Red Sea; as well as the impact of deep-convection, in the
Polar regions, on the global climate. Mathematical models
for atmospheric turbulent mixing and the diffusion of pollutants
are also under development.
There are engineering programs to evaluate the improved fuel
efficiency (and lessened congestion) to arise from the organized
freeway travel of groups of closely-spaced vehicles, and other
studies aimed at decreasing the aerodynamic drag of heavy
trucks.
There are fundamental
studies underway to improve the fuel economy and emissions
of automotive engines using throttleless operation. Other
studies propose broad enhancements of the performance of internal
combustion engines by developing better understanding of the
limits of lean-burn operation, and improving flame ignition
in lean-burn engines by use of a corona
discharge. The improved efficiency and near-zero emissions
to come from lean-burn operation can also be applied to the
generation of electric power, not only for homes and businesses
in Southern California, but to power a new generation of electric/hybrid
vehicles.
In the area of earthquake damage mitigation, studies are
underway to investigate the key parameters (eg. the fundamental
resonance frequency) of sedimentary basin response in large
metropolitan areas of California (LA and San Francisco). These
data will be used to
model
a possible response to larger earthquakes.
The Urban Life Strategic Theme is supported by the following
Faculty Research Interest Clusters:
- Computational Engineering and Information
Technology
- Combustion and Heat Transfer
- Design and Manufacturing
- Environmental and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
- Ground Vehicle Aerodynamics
- High-Performance Advanced Materials
- Nano-, Micro-, and Meso-Scale Science
and Devices
- Solid and Applied Mechanics
Back to top
|
