14 DAY TRIAL // In the general field of physics, turbulences are among those factors that can cause a perfectly good device to malfunction. They represent hazard, and knowing your enemy is half the battle. Researchers looking into this type of phenomena are very dedicated workers, as was evidenced recently by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researcher Dr. Beverley J. McKeon, who, in addition to receiving interest in her work from the US Air Force, was also awarded an important prize.
This fall, in Washington, the scientist was one of the only 41 Department of Defense (DoD)-funded recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This award is given every year to the most promising scientists in their respective fields, who are just beginning their solo careers, and take on problems that are highly complex with enthusiasm. “I am extremely excited and honored,” McKeon said earlier this year, upon hearing that she had been selected for the award.
One of the expert's main areas of research is the potential impact that turbulence may have on flows. This line of investigation is of tremendous importance to the USAF, which plans to design new and advanced airplanes based on such research. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has therefore been funding McKeon for some time. The Arlington, Virginia-based AFOSR manages the USAF's basic research programs, and one of its primary duties is to discover, shape and champion basic science that profoundly impacts the future of the Force.
“Turbulence remains one of the greatest unsolved problems of classical physics and has received considerable attention over several decades. Advanced understanding of these fundamental aspects of flow over a surface has the potential to impact a broad range of Air Force applications, particularly with a view to the design of future vehicles,” McKeon added about her own work. The researcher received the award for her leading and innovative work on advancing a simplified model that explained turbulence under different pressure gradients.