ME PhD STUDENT VICTOR OVCHINNIKOV AWARDED ARCS FELLOWSHIP

Congratulations to Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student Victor Ovchinnikov for being named the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Endowment Fellow for the 2004-2005 academic year. The field of candidates for the Fellowship consisted of students from five area universities, in a wide range of disciplines.

The ARCS Foundation is a national volunteer women's organization dedicated to providing financial support to academically outstanding students majoring in the fields of natural science, medicine and engineering. The generous endowment is being granted by the Metropolitan Washington Chapter of ARCS.

Mr. Ovchinnikov obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree from Georgetown University, summa cum laude, with a double major in Mathematics and Biochemistry. He was admitted into the M.S. Program in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland in the Fall of 2001. He transferred to the Ph.D. program in the Fall of 2003. Mr. Ovchinnikov’s Ph.D. Advisor is Professor Ugo Piomelli, who has worked closely with him for over two years.

Victor’s research involves the study of transition in boundary layers subjected to high levels of free-stream disturbance. He is currently focusing on the interaction between wakes and boundary layers, the type that is encountered near the leading edge of airplane wings when high-lift devices (such as leading-edge slats) are deployed.

His work has appeared in two AIAA conference papers, one presented at the 2003 Aerospace Sciences Meeting, one to be presented at the 2004 Aerospace Sciences Meeting. He has also published an Abstract in the Bulletin of American Physical Society, and presented a paper at the 2003 Meeting of the American Physical Society / Division of Fluid Mechanics, which is the premier forum for research in turbulence and transition.

Published March 15, 2004