Sep 12, 2023 | No Comments | By Sarah Preis
The Materials Science in Extreme Environments University Research Alliance (MSEE URA), one of HEMI’s major research centers, is a consortium that aims to understand and mitigate the effects of weapons of mass destruction. The alliance works closely with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and features collaborators from all kinds of backgrounds. As a basic research consortium, workforce development is a key driver of the MSEE URA. Many MSEE participants are students or postdoctoral researchers.
In the first week of September, MSEE held two events for their graduate students and postdocs in support of the alliance’s workforce development goals. Both events took place at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida, where attendees were able to network and explore the facilities and career opportunities available at an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
The first of these events was the second annual Student Symposium. On September 5 and 6, attendees of the student-organized symposium participated in a full slate of networking, mentorship, and educational opportunities.
The symposium’s first day featured a discussion with Kyle Overdeep, an AFRL technical program manager. Overdeep, a former DTRA-funded graduate student, discussed his journey from PhD student to technical program manager. After hearing from Overdeep, students presented their MSEE research through oral talks and a poster session, followed by tours of some of the facilities within the Advanced Munitions Technology Complex at Eglin AFB.
Day two of the symposium continued with a networking session and tours of the Terminal Engagement Research Facility and the McKinley Climatic Laboratory. Throughout the symposium, MSEE students and postdocs were able to engage with AFRL researchers and scientists, including the Branch Chief of the Energetics Materials Branch, Jacob Morris.
Following the student symposium, AFRL researchers and MSEE students and postdocs participated in a two-day short course on uncertainty quantification (UQ) in physics-based modeling using Python. The UQ Short Course was held at AFRL’s off-site facility, the Doolittle Institute.
Participants in the short course were introduced to uncertainty quantification (UQ) in computational modeling using the Python programming language and a variety of UQ methods, including forward propagation of uncertainty, surrogate modelling, and Bayesian inference using the UQpy toolbox.
The short course was led by Dimitris Giovanis, a HEMI fellow and assistant research professor of civil and systems engineering, and Dimitrios Tsapetis, a postdoctoral fellow in the Whiting School of Engineering.
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