Beijing Computational Science Research Center

Prof. Manual D. Salas

Talk II: On High Dispersion Traveling Wave Solutions of the Korteweg-de Vries Burgers Equation
Abstract: Traveling wave solutions of Korteweg-de Vries Burgers equation are studied numerically in the region of high dispersion and low dissipation. From the numerical studies, the characteristic behavior of the solutions is summarized and compared to a solution of a linearized form of the equation. The turbulence characteristics of the numerical solutions are examined.

Talk II: The Curious Events Leading to the Theory of Shock Waves
Abstract: Unlike most other natural phenomena, shock waves were discovered with a pen by examining the solution of a partial differential equation. The story begins with the Euler-d'Alembert string debates in the mid-1700's and ends with the understanding of shock waves in the modern context in the early 1900's. In this lecture we concentrate on the time period from Gabriel Stokes struggles with the nature of shock waves to that of Pierre-Henri Hugoniot's exposition by Jaques Hadamard.

About the Speaker: Manuel D. Salas retired from NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on December 2008. He has degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He began his career at NASA in 1974. While at NASA, he held several technical management positions including head of the Theoretical Aerodynamics Branch, Chief Scientist for Fluid Mechanics, Director of High Performance Computing, and Principal Investigator for the Hypersonic Aerodynamic & Aerothermodynamics Program. He was also director of the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) from 1996 to 2002. He is the author of over 90 technical publications.

Date&Time: July 9, 2014 (Wednesday), 10:00 - 12:00
Location: 606 Conference Room