As members of a panel for the National Science Foundation, Professor J. Tinsley Oden and Professor Thomas J.R. Hughes recently helped release a report about the future of Simulation-Based Engineering Science (SBES), a field the report says is “fundamental to the security and welfare of the United States.”
SBES is “the application of computational models to the study and prediction of physical events or the behavior of engineered systems.” The technology is used to simulate engineered systems like microelectronic devices, automobiles, aircraft, and infrastructures for oilfields and cities. Simulation can help engineers characterize physical predictions, create theories, design experiments to test the theories, and study phenomena that are difficult to observe and measure.
The report said for SBES to reach its true potential:
- Engineers need to overcome difficulties in technologies like multi-scale modeling and development of next-generation algorithms
- Engineers need to improve models for validation and verification, and better integrate computing, visualization and simulation
- The country needs to overhaul the educational system to promote the interdisciplinary study that SBES demands.
Oden chaired the NSF Blue Ribbon Panel on Simulation-Based Engineering Science, and Hughes served as a panel member. Both are professors in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. The report, “Revolutionizing Engineering Science through Simulation,” explores potential advances in SBES, identifies barriers to the technology’s widespread use, and makes recommendations to help the NSF promote the growing field.
Oden holds the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering No. 2, is associate vice president for research and directs the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences. He develops computer models and algorithms to implement theories that solve a wide range of problems, from automobile design to manufacturing processes to surgical procedures. He is currently the principal investigator of a research group using computational methods to study step-and-flash lithography, a nano-manufacturing technique for semiconductors.
Hughes holds the Computational and Applied Mathematics Chair III and is also affiliated with the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences. He develops cardiovascular surgical procedures based on simulations of patient-specific models. Hughes uses digital computers in simulation technology to utilize patient-specific data in constructing mathematical models of individual patients. This allows medical professionals to implement various medical interventions virtually and make decisions based on predicted outcomes.
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