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In Celebration of Black History Month:
Special Seminar by James Hubbard |
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Date: February 23, 2007
Time: 1:00pm
Location: NIA, Rm 137
The Future of Aerospace: A Tribute to Ronald McNair
James E. Hubbard, Jr., University of Maryland Langley Professor at NIA
In celebration of Black History Month, Dr. James Hubbard will be presenting a special seminar, "The Future of Aerospace: A Tribute to Ronald McNair"
One of the world’s first African-American space shuttle astronauts, Ronald McNair is an American hero whose story serves as a model for people from all walks of life. His story is one that must be passed on from generation to generation.
Dr. McNair combined a remarkable life and career as a research scientist, pioneering astronaut, family man, jazz musician, karate expert, and a man of faith. His lifelong commitment was to continue his quest to inspire and encourage students to dream big, work hard and accomplish their goals.
Dr. Hubbard began his professional career as a USCG licensed Marine Engineer, and worked as an engineering officer on ships that carried supplies to the troops in Vietnam. He later enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he completed his Ph.D. in aero-acoustics. He performed parametric wind tunnel tests on blade/vortex interactions of helicopter rotor blades for his research.
Dr. Hubbard’s primary research interest is in the area of morphing aircraft structures (MAS). This is inherently a real time shape control problem. The ability to change shape or morph has the potential to significantly impact system performance characteristics such as turning radius, endurance, payload, and maximum velocity. Spatially distributed transducers and concomitant real time control offer the potential for unobtrusive, conformal, energy efficient structural control. Ultimately as a Langley Professor he would like to design, build, and demonstrate a seamless, aerodynamically efficient, aerial vehicle capable of radical shape change.
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