Sonnet to TurbulenceStanley Corrsin Shall we compare you to a liminar flow?You are more lovely and more sinuous.Rough winter winds shake branches free of snow,And summer’s plumes churn up in cumulus.How do we perceive you? Let me count the ways.A random vortex field with strain entwined.Fractal? Big and small swirls in the mazeMay give us …
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I recently gave a talk at the NASA Langley 2015 Technical Working Group. Slides are available on my website under presentations. One interesting slide shows mathematical relationships between acoustic analogy (turbulence as a source of sound) and nonlinear propagation (Burgers’ equation).
The Chrysler Museum of Art features a new exhibit on Henri Matisse. Henri Matisse is a master of color and a leader of French artists experimenting in color. When these paintings emerged in the early 1900’s they were ridiculed by contemporary critics of the time. It did not take too long for the critics to …
I have recently published an article in honor of the late NASA Senior Theoretical Aeroacoustician Dr. Fereidoun `Feri’ Farassat. During the first week I worked at NASA, while I was sending a fax, Dr. Farassat literally screamed from the other end of building 1208, Is this how NASA researchers spend their time?‘ I was surprised …
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One hundred years ago, March 3rd 2015, the US Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor organisation of NASA. Every allied aircraft has been tested in some form or another at NASA Langley. NASA has created a few websites to celebrate, NACA 100th Celebration and more NASA Langley specific. It is certainly …
While browsing the Internet I found an interesting website on abstract mathematics by Professor Charles Wells. The site is organized into subsections like chapters in a book. I’m especially interested in the use of different fonts, sizes, and colors to illustrate important points. Perhaps the important points are emphasized because of the experience of the …
I had the pleasure of watching the opera Salome in Norfolk Virginia by the Virginia Opera. My seat was in the front row and off-set a few stage right from the center. Salome is an opera (drama) in one act after the poem of Oscar Wilde, music by Richard Strauss, first performed in 1905. As …
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This months issue of Notices of the American Mathematical Society (Vol. 62, No. 2, Feb. 2015 pp. 152 – 160) contains an interview with Professor Yakov Sinai. The interview occurred because he won an award called the Abel prize. The interview contains a large number references to A. N. Kolmogorov! Here are a few interesting …
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Mr. Marcolini, the branch head who hired me in at NASA, recently retired. I had the opportunity to attend his retirement party a few days ago. Highlights were many gifts, funny stories, and an amazing NASA cake! I certainly wish him a very happy retirement. I’ll miss his advice and conversation at NASA.
I am very excited about the new year and what it might bring. I recall the words of a professor and friend who wrote, `don’t predict your future – create it.’ Wishing all my colleagues, friends, and family a happy future full of making their dreams become reality! I hope that I have some big …
