September 10, 2012

Hurricane season peaks with maximum activity early to mid-September, and researchers in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics are continuing to develop computer simulations that track, measure and predict hurricane storm surge.

In a recent interview with the Longhorn Network, aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics Professor Clint Dawson demonstrates how his team is improving the way hurricanes are forecast. Using two of the world's most powerful supercomputers located at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, Dawson's team is able to take regional maps and overlay predictions of storm surge.

"There is still way too much uncertainty in hurricanes," Dawson told the Longhorn Network. "They are very unpredictable and that's one thing we are trying to do is inform people about the risk and risk is uncertain."