International Symposium on Flow Visualization

According to Roth-Gibson Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Thomas J. Mueller, chairman of the 11th International Symposium on Flow Visualization (ISFV-11), the event held on the Notre Dame campus from August 9 through August 12, 2004 -- went very well. “The symposium originated in 1977,” says Mueller. “In fact, I went to the first symposium and then became a member of the international organizing board, working on following symposia. Our goal was to foster a global forum for communication and information exchange in the field of flow visualization.”

Recalling the years since the first symposium, Mueller stresses that flow visualization has undergone huge changes. The use of lasers for illumination and the increased use of computers for data processing and computations has led to rapid development in a number of areas. “For example,” says Mueller, “during the first symposium, there were no papers on the use of particle image velocimetry and only one or two that featured numerical solutions. Our most recent gathering featured papers on these two more techniques than all of the other techniques combined.”

Flow visualization can be applied to a variety of fields such as experimental and computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, metallurgy, meteorology, oceanography, biomedical, and food and agricultural technology.

The symposium was first hosted by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Scienceat the University of Tokyo. Over the years, it has been held in Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, England, and the United States. “This is only the third time it has been held in the U.S.,” says Mueller, “and the first time it’s been at Notre Dame, even though the University has a long history in flow visualization.”

For more information on ISFV-11, visit www.ode-web.demon.co.uk/11isfv.
For information on the history of flow visualization at Notre Dame, visit www.nd.edu/~ame.

Ethics and Changing Energy Markets:
Issues for Engineers, Managers, and Regulators

Sponsored by the University of Notre Dame and Carnegie Mellon University, the first conference on Ethics and Changing Energy Markets: Issues for Engineers, Managers, and Regulators (EnergyEthics 2004) is scheduled for October 28-29, approximately 14 months after the largest blackout in the history of North America. According to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s Report, “The August 14th blackout was a wake-up call concerning the reliability of our nation’s electric grid.”

But the fact is that consumer confidence was already shaky long before approximately 50 million people -- from southeastern Michigan through Ontario and northern Ohio, all the way east to New York City -- found themselves without electricity. People around the country had questions about Enron, they were worried about the California energy crisis, and they were concerned about the future of the energy industry.

EnergyEthics 2004 is the first conference to convene energy experts and industry leaders in order to engage them in discussions of ethical, market, and regulatory issues as they pertain to energy generation and use. Some of the topics to be covered at the conference include the roles of engineers, managers, and regulators in establishing an operational framework that is responsive to the market as well as to the needs of consumers.

Featured speakers -- from the energy industry, regulatory agencies, and academia -- will explore the issues arising in the shift from regulated to competitive markets and discuss the historical applications of energy in today’s market. They include the Honorable Patrick Wood III, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Vernon L. Smith, a Nobel Laureate in Economics and professor of economics and law at George Mason University; Bethany McLean, a writer for Fortune Magazine and co-author of “The Smartest Guys in the Room”; and Vicky Bailey, a partner with Johnston & Associates and former assistant secretary of energy for Policy & Intergovernmental Affairs of the Department of Energy.

Frank P. Incropera, the McCloskey Dean of Engineering at Notre Dame; Indira Nair, the vice provost for education at Carnegie Mellon University; Patrick Murphy, professor of marketing at the University and the Smith Co-director of the Institute for Ethical Business WorldWide; and Notre Dame alum Anthony F. Earley Jr., chief executive officer of DTE Energy, will also be speaking.

For more information about this conference, visit energyethics2004.nd.edu.