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news
America's Cup
gets assistance
By Larry W. Brunson
Jr.
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
If the Italian
racing team Prada wins the America's Cup in January 2003,
thanks in part will be due the department of aerospace engineering
at Cal State Long Beach.
Members of the
department will be providing computer technology and software
to boat designers for Prada, in preparation for the race in
two years in Auckland, New Zealand.
The America's Cup
is a boat race held every three to five years. Teams sailing
in the America's Cup depend on boat designers to assist them
with the latest hyperdynamic technology that will help them
navigate the boats quickly and effectively.
The Prada team
enlisted the help of professor Hamid Hefazi, chair of aerospace
engineering, as well as professor Eric Besnard, and Adelin
Schmitz, a doctoral student in the joint CSULB/Claremont College
Ph.D. program. Hefazi also received a grant of $40,039
from Prada so he could research various computer software
programs to assist the team with their boat design.
Besnard, who was
also involved with preparing the software for the design said,
"We help with the design tools so that Prada can design
their boat."
According to Hefazi,
the only role that he and his associates serve is to act as
technological advisers to the Prada team.
"We will provide
technology to the boat designers to make the boat faster and
better," Hefazi said. "It's similar to a race
car, how fast it is and the skill of the driver."
Hefazi was also
assisted by Besnard and Schmitz, but his greatest assistance
came from David Egan, a CSULB aerospace engineering graduate.
"We have been
involved with alumni that are boat designers and David was
aware of our capabilities, and he helped us to get the grant,"
Hefazi said.
According to Hefazi,
his role in the project is taken care of long before the race
begins. "Our role is done prior to the race, and nine
months prior to the race the boat needs to be done and tested."
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