HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...

Robert Charles Nelson, Ph.D., ’64, ’66 M.S.
Professor, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Biography
Robert Nelson received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in aerospace engineering from the University
of Notre Dame (1964, 1966) and his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania
State University (1974). Before joining Notre Dame, Nelson was an instructor of aerospace
engineering at Pennsylvania State University and later worked as an engineer at the U.S. Air
Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory (AFFDL) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1975,
Nelson joined the faculty at Notre Dame and has been active in research that focuses on the
aerodynamics and flight mechanics of aircraft.
His present research interest focuses on improving large wind turbine performance. In his time
at Notre Dame, he has had more than 45 research grants sponsored by NASA, NSF, AFOSR,
ARO, ONR, the Institute for Aerospace Research in Canada, and the McDonnell Douglas
Corporation. Nelson has directed 25 master’s and 10 Ph.D. students, and was the co-advisor for
five other Ph.D. students. He has published more than 150 journal and conference papers, and
he has received one national and four department and University teaching awards. Nelson is a
member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). In 1997, he was elected to the grade of fellow of the AIAA.
Lecture
Wind Energy Research at Notre Dame−Developing a Better Energy Source
Categories
Engineering, Notre Dame
The major challenges of this century will be to provide enough energy, water, and food without harming the environment and
depleting these resources for future generations. Renewal energy sources such as wind and solar energy must play a more
important role in our energy future. This presentation will focus on the potential of wind power. Today, wind power only
contributes about 2% of the electrical power generated in the United States, however our country has excellent wind resources
that potentially could provide up to 20% of our electrical power need. These are many issues and challenges that need to be
addressed in order to increase wind power to such a level. One of the most important challenges is to make the cost of generating
electricity from wind turbines to be competitive with nuclear, gas, or coal powered plants. Research at the University of Notre
Dame has shown that significant improvement can be made in wind turbine energy capture. The improvement is accomplished
by incorporating unique devices on the turbine blades to control the flow over the blades and thereby the aerodynamics of the
blades. The Notre Dame study has shown that future wind turbine designs that incorporate active aerodynamic load control have
the potential of lowering the acquisition and operating costs of the wind turbine system. These cost reductions will make wind
generated electrical power very competitive with electrical power plants that use coal.
The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2013 Program 71