BU Project GLACIER

	Michael Cannamela Degree Sought : Mechanical Engineering Research Focus: Computational Modeling of a DC Arc Plasma Torch School Name : Heath School Teaching Partner: Mark Goldner Michael's Project GLACIER Site
Michael Cannamela is a graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Boston University. He is researching a process called plasma spraying that is used to apply ceramic coatings to metal parts to protect them from heat. This process is very useful for turbomachinery like electricity-generating gas turbines, because it allows the components to be made cheaper and the engine to run hotter; hotter engines are more efficient, so this is one way to save energy. Michael's research focuses on the torch used to apply the coating, and he is trying to compute the motion of the fluid within the torch, so that he can better understand how the process works and how to make it more efficient.
Michael is working with science teacher Mark Goldner at Brookline's Heath school. Together they will explore life on earth with the 7th grade and earth's changing atmosphere with the 8th grade. Projects planned for this year include a sustainable micro-agriculture project in the 7th grade and a cradle-to-grave analysis of consumer products and their resource footprints in the 8th grade.