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Distinguished Faculty Scholar to present lecture

March 26, 2010

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University's 2009 Distinguished Faculty Scholar will make a public presentation from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, on campus in the Fetzer Center's Putney Auditorium.

Dr. William W. Liou, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, will lecture on "Predicting the Perfect Storms: The Evolution of Complex Calculations."

Liou is the founding director of CAViDS, or Center for Advanced Vehicle Design and Simulation. His technical specialties include high-performance computing and multiscale sciences and engineering computing, as well as propulsion, ground vehicle thermal-fluid efficiency, MEMS fluid dynamics and heat transfer, transitional and turbulent flows, and hydrodynamic stability.

CAViDS was established at WMU in 2005 to provide breakthrough applied computer simulation technology and knowledge to the auto industry in the area of vehicle design and analysis. The center works closely with the industry, sharing costs, risks and benefits.

According to Liou, the shrinking market share for domestically made vehicles has lead to low profit margins, which in turn has driven the industry to off-shore labor-intensive jobs in countries with cheap labor.

In recent years, he says, automakers and auto-part suppliers have been exporting an increasing number of more advanced jobs as they establish centers of excellence in vehicle technologies overseas.

Liou and his faculty and student colleagues at CAViDS assist the auto industry with applied technologies that have directly impacted product design, manufacturability, quality and, therefore, profitability. Ultimately, they hope to stem the tide of knowledge-based, high-tech jobs in the industry that are being sent off shore.

Liou's lecture is being sponsored by the Graduate College.

For more information, contact the college at (269) 387-8212.

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Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/news