Scientists simulate jet colliding with World Trade Center

Researchers at Purdue University have created a simulation that uses scientific principles to study in detail what likely happened when a commercial airliner crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001. The simulation research, funded by the National Science Foundation, was carried out by a team that includes Christoph M. Hoffmann, a professor of computer science and co-director of the Computing Research Institute at Purdue; Mete Sozen, the Kettelhut Distinguished Professor of Structural Engineering in Purdue's School of Civil Engineering; Ayhan Irfanoglu, an assistant professor of civil engineering; Voicu Popescu, an assistant professor of computer science; computer science doctoral student Paul Rosen; and civil engineering doctoral students Oscar Ardila and Ingo Brachmann.

Why was this study done at Purdue we might ask?


White House photo
by Paul Morse

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 15, 2004

Personnel Announcement

President George W. Bush meets with Dr. Arden L. Bement in the Oval Office Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004. President Bush is nominating Dr. Bement to be Director of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Bement has been serving as Acting Director since February 22, 2004. White House photo by Paul Morse The President intends to nominate Arden Bement, Jr., of Indiana, to be Director of the National Science Foundation for the remainder of a six-year term expiring August 2, 2010. Dr. Bement currently serves as Acting Director of the National Science Foundation and as Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Previously, Dr. Bement served as the David A. Ross Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering and head of the School of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University. He earned his bachelor's degree from the Colorado School of Mines, his master's degree from the University of Idaho, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

NSF staff and management

NSF leadership has two major components: a director who oversees NSF staff and management responsible for program creation and administration, merit review, planning, budget and day-to-day operations; and a 24-member National Science Board (NSB) of eminent individuals that meets six times a year to establish the overall policies of the foundation. The director and all Board members serve six year terms. Each of them, as well as the NSF deputy director, is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.



Integrating Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization

Sunday, September 14, 2003
Chris Hoffmann, Voicu Popescu, CS & CRI
Sami Kilic, Mete Sozen, CE & CRI
Purdue University
Abstract
We describe the work of an interdisciplinary team of
researchers in geometric computing, computer graphics,
and civil engineering to produce a visualization of the
September 2001 attack on the Pentagon from physical
simulation. The immediate motivation for the project was
to understand the behavior of the building under the
impact. The longer term motivation is to establish a path
for producing high-quality visualizations of large scale
simulations that combine state-of-the-art graphics with
state-of-the-art engineering simul

Hmm, the Neoconmen seem to be like moth's, they are embedded in the very fabric that constitutes our being, and when the larva hatch there isn't much left of it...G: