Retooling Veterans with Service- and Combat-Connected Disabilities in Advanced Virtual Engineering
Abstract
Research problem and objectives: With fast-paced developments in computer horse-power and analytical tools, engineering design decision-making processes are moving from outcomes based off pure physical testing towards more and more computer simulations or virtual laboratory analyses. This makes the existing situation of nation-wide acute shortage of well-equipped engineers to meet the ever expanding demand of Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) simulation engineers even more severe. In this backdrop, this project targets primarily U.S. armed forces veterans, especially veterans with service- and combat-connected disabilities, to retrain them to grow into Highly-Qualified Personnel in the Naval STEM related areas through graduate level education and research involving virtual engineering design and analyses tools. The project, thus, serves two purposes; firstly, for the veterans with a service- and combat-connected disability, it opens up the doors for intellectually challenging and financially rewarding career opportunities, and secondly, for Navy, it makes available a pool of highly-qualified mechanical engineering graduates with Master~s and PhD degrees well trained in computer aided design and analysis.Technical approach: The objectives of this project will be achieved by augmenting the existing Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) graduate program at UNC Charlotte with two additional navy/military application oriented project based applied coursework, and dissertation/thesis research along the same line. The veteran participants in the program will betaught first the fundamental principles of computational design and analysis, like the fundamentals of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or Finite Element Methods (FEM). Next, they will be transitioned to the practical product design process using the computational principles and methodologies learned earlier. The program will be tailored in such a way that veterans with undergraduate degrees in STEM disciplines other than Mechanical Engineeringcan also enter the program and graduate with a Master~s or PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering. However, this might require the students to take additional undergrad level bridging courses before they can be enrolled in the MSME/PhD program.Anticipated outcome and impact on DoD Capabilities: Though the primary objective of this program is to retrain veterans with disabilities, and veterans in general, to make them academically qualified for exciting and well-compensated engineering design and analysis careers, the program curriculum is effectively designed to address the critical DoD talent needs as identified in the National Defense Strategy (NDS). As such, almost the entirety of the curriculum, except for the two fundamental engineering classes, is devoted to advanced computing. Furthermore, the proposed new course, CAE in Defense Applications I : CFD, trains the students in the use of advanced computing in design and analysis of hypersonic missiles. The restricted technical elective courses mandate that the students are trained in at least one of the following areas in addition to their MSME major: data analytics, artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics. As such, the overall curriculum design will encompass most of areas identified in the NDS as the advanced technology areas where our defense initiatives need highly trained personnel in order to maintain our global superiority. Finally, although the program will be tailored primarily towards the retraining of our veterans, the Naval application related coursework and research projects will be open to all US nationals. A successful completion of this project will subsequently enable the Navy and DoD, in general, to have access to an evenlarger pool of US national talents trained in Virtual Engineering or in Engineering using Advanced High Performance Computing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912245
Entities
People
- Mesbah Uddin
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte