Faculty Achievements

Dr. Isaac Elishakoff

Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering

Congratulations to Isaac Elishakoff, Ph.D., distinguished research professor in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, whose research paper in Zamm – Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, was among the top 10 percent most downloaded papers for the entire year! His essay, “Stepan Prokofievich Timoshenko and America,” delves into the life of S.P. Timoshenko, the father of American engineering mechanics.

Dr. Mehrdad Nojoumian

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Congratulations to Mehrdad Nojoumian, Ph.D., associate professor at FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science and alum Ramiro Alvarez for winning the “Best Paper Award” at the 2020 Future of Information and Communication Conference (FICC). Their research on “Efficient Implementation and Computational Analysis of Privacy-Preserving Auction Protocols” explored privacy-preserving mechanisms used in the construction of efficient sealed-bid auctions, and implemented protocols that can be used to hold online sealed-bid auctions that protect the losing bids. “Our research fills the gaps in the literature of sealed-bid auctions, sheds light on the privacy-preserving protocols for market mechanisms, and demonstrates how these protocols can be efficiently utilized in financial paradigms,” Dr. Nojoumian explained. “It will also lead to a better understanding of privacy and transparency in economics and finance.”

Dr. Stewart Glegg

Professor, Department of Ocean & Mechanical Engineering

Stewart Glegg, Ph.D., director of the Center for Acoustics and Vibrations and professor in the Department of Ocean & Mechanical Engineering, received an Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) grant from the National Science Foundation for his project entitled “Optimizing Kevlar Fabric for Wind Tunnel Applications.” Dr. Glegg and an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Virginia Tech and North Carolina State University are aiming to improve the performance of aeroacoustic wind tunnels by redesigning the pre-existing Kevlar cloth that make up the walls of the tunnel. These types of wind tunnels are used for the measurement of noise from wind turbine blades, aircraft engines, and aircraft components. Currently there are over 10 aeroacoustic wind tunnels worldwide, including two NASA facilities and one Navy facility, that use Kevlar walls.

“We are conducting a study – the first of its kind – to determine the optimum Kevlar cloth so that it is almost transparent to sound, while minimizing the facility noise that can often mask the noise from the component being tested,” Dr. Glegg explained. “If successful, this would broaden the functionality of the Kevlar walls and transform aeroacoustic and aerodynamic testing in the multimillion-dollar aircraft and wind turbine industries.”

The NSF EAGER award is unique since it supports exploratory work in its early stages on untested but potentially transformative research for ideas that are considered "high risk-high payoff" because they involve radically different approaches, apply new expertise, or engage novel perspectives.