Faculty Member Earns Office of Naval Research Grant

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Tech Assistant Professor of Ocean Engineering Steven M. Jachec, Ph.D., P.E., has received $150,000 from the Office of Naval
Research (ONR) for his work on simulating internal waves in straits. Oliver B. Fringer, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering from
Stanford University, is collaborating with Jachec under separate ONR funding.

The team will perform high-resolution simulations of internal waves using the SUNTANS model that numerically simulates the three-dimensional fluid flow
evolution in straits. The project supports the ONR’s Internal Waves In Straits Experiment. Although a specific field site has not been identified, this
work will focus on generating internal waves in the Luzon Strait in the South China Sea.

The effort will be divided into four areas: assessing effects of grid resolution and bathymetry; performing three-dimensional simulations of chosen field
sites; performing two- and three-dimensional process studies; and assessing nonhydrostatic effects.

The Department of Marine and Environmental Systems offers degree programs in costal zone management, environmental sciences, marine science, meteorology,
ocean engineering, Earth remote sensing, oceanography and environmental resource management.