The University of New Orleans has been awarded a 10-year $3 million grant as one of three American university partners on a major South Korean initiative in marine structure and shipbuilding.
UNO, the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland were selected to work with one of South Korea’s two Global Core Research Centers (GCRC). The centers will focus on research opportunities within South Korea’s two major export industry sectors: shipbuilding/marine structures and electronic industries.
The Global Core Research Center- Ship and Offshore Plant will be operated by Pusan National University in South Korea with a consortium of academic institutions and South Korea’s major ship builders. A portion of the research funding is allocated to overseas consortium members, including UNO.
The UNO principal investigator is Pingsha Dong, the Northrop Grumman Endowed Chair in Shipbuilding and Engineering and director of the Welded Structures Laboratory. Dong, an internationally renowned researcher, will provide advanced research to the center in the areas of advanced welding and ship construction technologies, and fatigue design and analysis methods for marine structures.
“Being selected as a member of the South Korean’s GCRC serves as major international recognition for UNO’s research and educational capabilities in shipbuilding research and technologies,” Dong said. “We are excited about the opportunity to work with the GCRC’s partners to advance ship design, analysis and construction technologies over the next 10 years.”