By MC2 Patrick Dionne

Naval Postgraduate School Department of Oceanography Chair Peter Chu received the Denny Silver Gilt Medal from Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) for his research on atmospheric and wave modelling, March 16.

The Denny Silver Gilt Medal is awarded to the best paper published in a complete issue or supplement over the course of one year in each of the Journal of Marine Engineering and Technology (JMET) and the Journal of Operational Oceanography (JOO). Chu received the honor along with his coauthors – Dr. George Galanis, Evenia Papageorgiou, and Aristotelis Liakatas from the Hellenic Naval Academy, as well as Menas Kafatos and Nikolaos Hatzopoiulos from the Schmid College of Science – during the 115th IMarEST Awards Dinner in Guildhall, London.

“I have been studying ocean modeling for 20 years and have been collaborating with Dr. Galanis for some time when he serves as a visiting professor for NPS during the summer,” said Chu. “I never would have expected to be selected for this but I am honored and very happy to have all of our hard work recognized.”

The winning paper, titled “Operational atmospheric and wave modelling in the California coastline and offshore area with applications to wave energy monitoring and assessment,” examined a new high-resolution operational atmospheric/wave forecasting system. The research, which was a result of a collaboration between U.S. and European universities, consists of two state-of-the-art prediction models called Regional Atmospheric Modeling and Wave modeling.

“What makes wave energy so important to the Navy is it is a great opportunity for green energy as the wave energy can create a lot of electric power,” said Chu. “Additionally, understanding Wave patterns is incredibly important for Naval operations and navigations.”

The medal is awarded by the IMarEST Council following recommendation from the Editorial Boards and the Proceedings Supervisory Board.

“This summer Professor Galanis and myself will be hosting a seminar on campus to promote our research and this is a great opportunity to attract more student involvement in continuing the project,” said Chu. “I have been at NPS for 32 years and this is a great place to do research like this because of the highly-motivated students and also the vast amount of expertise from colleagues.”

Chu stated that the next step in his research is to use the modeling to understand the wave conditions of severe weather conditions, such as hurricanes or super typhoons, as well as applying the same research to wave activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Since its inception in 1968, the NPS Department of Oceanography has developed internationally-recognized research and education programs focused on pushing forward the frontiers of physical oceanography while meeting the future needs of the Navy.