Research by a US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) postdoctoral research associate could help the navy develop stealthier unmanned underwater vehicles inspired by shark skin.
Nicole Xu, Ph.D., is working with the Laboratories for Computational Physics & Fluid Dynamics on designing faster and more energy efficient underwater vehicles using bioinspired shark skin-like surfaces.
“Shark skin comprises arrays of teeth-like denticle structures, which contribute to fast and stealthy swimming by turbulent drag reduction,” Xu said. She began her NRL postdoctoral associateship in January 2021.
“Xu has demonstrated extraordinary motivation and initiative, as well as technical expertise in the area of unpiloted systems research,” said Jason Geder, an NRL aerospace engineer who is Xu’s mentor.
Xu’s goal is to test these bioinspired surfaces on hydrofoils in flow channels before implementing the skins onto unpiloted underwater vehicles (UUV), such as the NRL-developed WANDA UUV and other traditional underwater vehicles.
“Because the denticles possess complicated microstructures, I am currently testing 3D printing capabilities and designing the foils to conduct our initial experiments in a water tunnel,” Xu said.
Equality in the Classroom and Workplace
“The rhetoric has palpably changed for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM),” Xu said. “From how women can assimilate into male-dominated fields to how male-dominated fields can be more inclusive and seek underrepresented groups.”
In high school and college, Xu was advised to never show emotion or lack of strength as a woman in engineering, for fear that male engineers wouldn’t take her, or other female engineers, seriously.
“In graduate school, I began to see the discourse shifting,” Xu said. “Faculty of all genders spoke candidly about their struggles in research, and emphasized that emotions are humanizing, not demonizing. I also worked in a mechanical engineering laboratory with primarily female graduate students, which I did not consciously view as noteworthy until someone else pointed it out. It was just normal to me.”
