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In the News
Faculty
News
Ship
Shock Simulation
Upcoming
Workshop on Monsoons
Free Electron Laser and Rail Gun:
Technology for Incoming Missile Defense
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By NPS staff.
As the technology in the study of electromagnetic
rail guns and free electron lasers has evolved,
NPS’s Electric Weapons Center has adapted
vigorously to stay abreast of these developments
and to incorporate new technologies with
potential weapon system applications into
research benefiting the Navy and the Department
of Defense.
A free electron laser directed energy weapon
system holds the promise of satisfying shipboard
self-defense requirements on Navy vessels
because of the potential for high-power
operation and the accessibility according
to Colson.
“One megawatt of focused laser power can
burn through a liter of a missile's material
in about two seconds,” said Professor William
B. Colson, Director of the NPS Electric
Weapons Center, explaining the effectiveness
of a free electron laser in a presentation
to Vice Adm. John B. Nathman, Deputy Chief
of Naval Operations, Warfare Requirements
and Programs.
“I believe this type of laser can be compact
enough to fit aboard Navy ships and still
be powerful and accurate enough to kill
a missile homing-in to destroy its target,”
Colson adds.
As an example of the efficiency of an electric
weapon, a free electron laser would use
about three gallons of the ship's fuel to
destroy an incoming missile – the cost is
about $3 per gallon of the ship's fuel used
to destroy the target.
Colson emphasized to Nathman the ability
of electric weapons to fit the Navy's perceived
need to be able to identify, pinpoint, and
take out targets far enough away from the
ship to prevent damage to the ship's assets.
Example: an electric weapon that
destroys an incoming missile.
“The question remains, can this be scaled
to the size of a total missile defense system?
Can this weapon system be evolved to a much
larger defense scenario outside of shipboard
incoming missile defense?”
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NASA honors NPS professor
- Developed program that produced 34 astronauts
– more than any other university.
Dr. Rudolph "Rudy" Panholzer, chairman
of the Space Systems Group, was the recipient
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
Distinguished Service Medal, the highest
award to a non-government individual.
Panholzer was recognized for furthering
joint efforts between NASA and NPS (Note:
In 1995, Panholzer established the NASA
Chair at NPS in honor of Navy Capt. Michael
Smith, pilot of the Challenger space shuttle
and an NPS graduate-astronaut) and the development
of the PANSAT satellite, a program that
involved 52 students' master's theses between
March 1989 and the satellite's launch in
1995.
NPS professor elected to meteorological
society post
Professor Chuck Wash, chairman
of the meteorology department, has been
elected to the governing council of the
American Meteorological Society for a three-year
term. Wash is a leader in developing educational
programs for civilian meteorologists and
in observing Earth's weather patterns from
the space shuttle in cooperation with NASA.
The Navy Superior Civilian Service
Award
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Professor
David H. Olwell, shown at left,
beams as he receives the Navy’s superior
civilian award. |
Olwell, the Academic Associate of the Systems
Engineering and Analysis (SEA) interdisciplinary
curriculum, received the award for the development
of the new Systems Analysis (SA) Certificate
Program for the Navy.
Physics professor receives national
honor from the American Physical Society (APS)
Nancy Haegel, who joined the Physics
department in July 2003, was recently awarded
APS's 2004 award. Previously, she received
the Lucile Packard Fellowships in science
and engineering for an outstanding young faculty,
and was honored by the National Science Foundation.
Her current research project is in the field
of semiconductor materials.
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An example of one of our research project
that is gaining a lot of attention from the
Navy -- Ship shock computer and modeling simulations
on two US Navy ships:
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USS Winston S.
Churchill (DDG 81) |
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USS John Paul Jones
(DDG 53) |
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Why? Ship Shock trials (using
explosives and etc.) are necessary for evaluating
the vulnerability and survivability of a ship’s
hull in a combat environment. However, shock
trials are very expensive, require extensive
planning and coordination, and hazardous to
the marine environment. As a result, computer
simulation and modeling are being viewed as
an alternative, but they too pose a problem—too
complex and time consuming.
Until now: Using research grants from the
Navy, NPS has developed a computer modeling
and simulation that is faster and less labor
intensive with amazing accuracy. The results
mirror actual trials conducted on the above
two ships.
Future? NPS work on ship
shock trial modeling and simulation has been
changing the Navy direction for ship shock
qualification. This may bring about potential
savings of over $100M for the Navy.
See
actual and computer simulated trial tests.
(PPT)
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