Matthew MacLean
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

career interests
  • hypersonic aerothermal/aerodynamic flows
  • gas/surface interaction
  • non-equilibrium flows
  • integration of computational and experimental methods for data validation

education

work experience
  • Calspan University at Buffalo Research Center (CUBRC) Buffalo, NY; 7/02 - present
    products/purpose: shock tunnel test facilities for hypersonics research and development
    position: Senior Research Scientist
    1. Performing primary computational support for LENS shock tunnel facilities. Tasks include facility component design and validation, design-of-experiment, development and validation of physical models for facility and test article modeling, data analysis and validation
    2. Validation of experimental data with CFD analysis
    3. Numerical modeling and experimental study of atmospheric reentry physics
    4. Facility modeling and data validation of expansion tunnel facility
    5. Chemically-reacting CFD code development
    6. Study of non-equilibrium (thermal/chemical) physics for shock-tunnel environment applications
    7. Study of surface chemistry/catalysis physics for shock-tunnel environment applications
    8. Scramjet design and performance prediction
    9. Analysis of hypersonic transition and turbulent flows
    10. See research gallery for a sample list of program involvement
  • Virginia Tech AOE Department Blacksburg, VA; 8/99 - 5/02
    products/purpose: aerospace engineering university
    position: Graduate Research Assistant
    1. Dissertation work includes CFD modeling in Ansys Flotran and multi-physics packages to study the interactions between fluid flows and a typical skin friction sensor. The goal is to determine what parameters affect performance and accuracy of measurement.
    2. Project work includes development of a plastic, rubber coated skin friction gage for flight test applications. Work included design modifications, concept development, design for robustness, calibration, and testing in a supersonic wind tunnel.
    3. Grading obligations include grading homework/tests for 2 classes and teaching an undergraduate lab section.
  • RIT National Center for Remanufacturing Rochester, NY; 12/98 - 2/99
    products/purpose: remanufacturing analysis and feasibility studies
    position: Engineering Coop Student
    1. Worked on the initial stages of a Navy renovation project to remanufacture and upgrade a naval ship.
    2. Designed a test fixture and test process for a remanufactured CV joint study.
    3. Performed project management, price quoting, data collection, and calculation functions.
  • Lawrence Livermore National DOE Lab San Francisco, CA; 8/98
    products/purpose: Dept. of Energy research lab.
    position: Summer Institute Student Attendant
    1. Participated in an elite two week summer seminar covering major research projects underway at LLNL.
    2. Performed a brief research project using modal analysis on a National Ignition Facility structural component.
  • UT Technologies, Inc. Elmira Heights, NY; 6/98 - 8/98
    products/purpose: metal stamping and toolmaking
    position: Engineering Coop Student
    1. Researched automated, in-line inspection systems, specifically machine vision systems and conventional laser/capacitive systems.
    2. Developed concept designs for sorting and delivery systems for stamped parts.
  • Praxair, Inc. Tonawanda, NY; 12/96 - 2/97, 6/97 - 8/97
    products/purpose: industrial gases and cryogenic liquids
    position: Engineering Coop Student, mechanical plant design and gas transmission divisions
    1. Designed a flare stack for a hydrogen gas plant.
    2. Performed gas dispersion/consequence modeling using a Gaussian dispersion/jet modeling package for vent design and placement, accounting for worker safety and product quality.
    3. Performed basic heat transfer and pipe flow calculations and sized gas transmission lines.
    4. Updated drawings using both AutoCAD and by hand.
  • Marquardt Switches, Inc. Cazenovia, NY; 6/96 - 8/96
    products/purpose: commercial electrical switches
    position: Engineering Coop Student
    1. Performed statistical process control, AutoCAD drawing, facilities layout, and process documentation.
    2. Worked with ISO9002 quality control, injection molding, and automated production.

appointments / awards
  • Appointed Associate Editor to AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (2011)
  • Appointed Adjunct Faculty University at Buffalo Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dept. (2012)
    1. MAE 422, Gasdynamics, Spring Semester 2012 [22 enrolled], Fall Semester 2012 [70 enrolled], Fall Semester 2013 [100 enrolled]
    2. MAE 424, Aerodynamics, Spring Semester 2013 [93 enrolled]
  • NASA Software of the Year Award Recipient for the Data Parallel Line Relaxation (DPLR) Code (2007)
  • AIAA Best Paper in Thermophysics Award, Thermophysics Technical Committee (2013), for:
    MacLean, M. "An Equilibrium Ablation Boundary Condition for the Data-Parallel Line-Relaxation Code." AIAA Paper 2013-0304. 51ST AIAA Aerosciences Meeting, Grapevine, TX: 7-10 January 2013.
  • NASA Group Achievement Awards (3)
    1. MH-13 Orbiter Aerothermodynamics Test Team
    2. CAP High Fidelity Backshell Wind Tunnel Test
    3. Space Shuttle Program Ascent Environmental Test Team
  • AIAA Outstanding Paper Award, Ground Test Technical Committee (2007), for:
    Wadhams, T; Smolinski, G.; Holden, M.; and MacLean, M. "Experimental Space Shuttle Orbiter Studies to Acquire Data for Code and Flight Heating Model Validation." AIAA Paper 2007-0551. 45TH AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit, Reno, NV: 8-11 January 2007.

computer skills
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Simulation and Code Development
    1. extensive experience with DPLR chemically reacting flow solver (NASA Ames Research Center)
    2. As part of DPLR development team developed: finite-rate surface chemistry boundary condition, GMRES time integration scheme, automatic zonal boundary detection algorithm, Spalart-Allmaras turbulence modeling, porting to 64-bit OS, many miscellaneous bug-fixes and minor improvements to pre- & post- processor and solver
    3. provided tech support for other users in DPLR community
    4. also some experience with US3D, WIND, and GASP solvers
  • Stability and Transition Analysis for Hypersonic Boundary Layers (STABL) code for transition prediction
  • Gridgen Structured grid meshing
  • ICEM Structured grid meshing
  • Tecplot CFD post-processing
  • OS Experience: linux (RHEL/CentOS, Fedora, and SuSE), OS-X, Windows XP, Solaris, IRIX, and AIX
  • Linux cluster management and administration (PBS/Torque, node synchronization, etc.)
  • Programming Skills
    1. C/C++
    2. Fortran 90/95
    3. Java
    4. Perl
    5. Autoconf/M4 & make scripting
    6. Shell scripting
    7. OpenGL
    8. GTK GUI Toolkit
    9. HTML 4.01, CSS, and Javascript
  • other software: ANSYS, Matlab, Mathematica, AutoCAD

activities/organizations