#grahamdoig

The research will eventually expand to other college campuses in California to better understand how Cal Poly’s student body and “Learn by Doing” approach compares. The project, which will support several student researchers (including new hires Linda Moore and Andres Hernandez), is a collaboration with Dr. Chance Hoellwarth (Center for Engineering, Science and Mathematics Education) and Dr. Kathy Chen (Materials Engineering), with CSU STEM VISTA AmeriCorps volunteers Nicki Holm and Monica Singer.

Several students from Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering Department are heading to NASA Ames Research Center this summer. Long-time Low Speed Wind Tunnel assistant (and 2016 aerodynamics team lead for PROVE Lab), Riess Haslam, (left), will be working in the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (same as last year!) with Lauren Polo (next to Riess) who helped out with the wind tunnel traverse this year, and Tyler Miles (rear) who spent last summer at Ames’ Fluid Mechanics Lab under the mentorship of a great friend to Cal Poly Aero, Kurt Long. This year, Katie Breitenstein (rear) will be at the Fluid Mechanics Lab - Katie’s been helping get a seal swimming project started. And Bob Comstock, currently PROVE Lab’s CAD guru, will be working on developing CFD tools in a separate division at Ames. Lucas Dodd (not pictured) is also heading to the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel complex, having worked with Dr. Doig on bird wing aerodynamics last year. Whew. That’s a lot of people who’ve done a lot of great stuff about to have an incredible summer.   

Since joining Cal Poly in late 2014, Graham Doig (pictured here with Ed Burnett of Lockheed Martin) has integrated undergraduate aerospace engineering students into aerodynamic research of a nearly professional quality. He has overseen the significant modernization of Cal Poly’s Low-Speed Wind Tunnel, and he has overhauled key courses in fluids, thermodynamics and applied aerodynamics to offer more project-based learning and foster increased student creativity. Doig founded and advises the high-profile, student-led Cal Poly Prototype Vehicles Lab, which is building a car to break the land speed record for a solar-powered vehicle in the summer of 2018. 

Students who work in or have projects in the Low Speed Wind Tunnel lab got together at the end of last quarter to farewell long-time fixer-of-all-things, Matt Paul (never seen without baseball cap). Matt recently started work at NASA Ames' Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, having worked as a wind tunnel test engineer and teaching assistant at Cal Poly while completing his Master's degree. We'll miss you, Matt! Now we can start clearing up after you...!

2017 Ames visit - on a wet and wild day in February, students in Dr. Doig’s ground-breaking Aerodynamic Research and Development course visited NASA Ames for presentations and the Cal Poly Insider Tour of the Unitary Plan supersonic test section (top), including a peek in the full-scale tunnel while Wired were filming. 

PROVE Lab have started manufacturing their solar-powered land speed record car - here’s a look back at the simulation that went into creating the shape for one of the lowest-drag vehicles ever. FLIP was the design and testing partner for this part of the program, for wind tunnel and CFD work.