ENGINEERING PROFS RECEIVE $71.5K NASA FUNDING

Resit Unal, professor of engineering management and systems engineering, and Charles B. Keating, associate professor and graduate program director of engineering management and systems engineering, recently were awarded a $71,500 NASA Langley Research Center grant for their project "Development of an Expert Judgment Elicitation and Calibration Methodology for Risk Analysis in Conceptual Vehicle Design."

A primary problem in conducting risk analysis in launch vehicle conceptual design is the lack of historical data to quantify input parameter uncertainty. This project seeks to develop an expert judgment and calibration methodology to quantify design parameter uncertainty as a probability distribution.

Unal joined Old Dominion in 1986. His research interests include multidisciplinary design optimization, robust design, quality engineering, response surface methods, and genetic algorithms. He is involved in research at NASA Langley Research Center in developing multidisciplinary design optimization approaches for space transportation systems. He has published papers in The Engineering Management Journal, IEEE Transactions in Engineering Management, The Journal of Parametrics, and The Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets.

Keating's research interests include systems engineering methodologies, project management systems, and international quality management systems design. Prior to joining the faculty of Old Dominion in 1994, he served in numerous US Army staff and command positions for more than five years. In addition, he has served for more than seven years in quality engineering management, including high technology design, engineering, and testing oversight, at Texas Instruments and Newport News Shipbuilding. He has conducted a multitude of research projects in various organizations, including NASA, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and the Riverside Health System.