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 Monday, April 27, 2009 Media Advisory:UC San Diego Students Take Surfing to the Next Level Scripps undergraduate class introduces the physics of surfing Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego What: UC San Diego freshmen will conduct a wave-riding experiment to study the physical properties at work when surfers paddle to catch waves at one of San Diego's finest surf breaks. The field experiment is part of a UC San Diego freshman seminar class titled "The Physics of Surfing," taught by Professor David Sandwell of UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.When: Saturday, May 2, 2009, 8:30 a.m. Where: Scripps Pier, 8648 Kennel Way, La Jolla, Calif. (formally Discovery Way) Who: David Sandwell, professor of geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego; Stefan Llewellyn Smith, associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; and UC San Diego freshman students.  UC San Diego freshman will set up a wave-riding experiment to study the physical properties at work when surfers paddle to catch waves at one of San Diego's finest surf breaks. The course is part of the university's freshmen seminars program, which allows students to explore interesting topics and introduces them to research methods. Students learn about the physical forces creating waves and the laws of fluid mechanics that govern how surfboards move through water. The freshman seminar covers three topics in physics related to surfing: 1) generation, propagation and breaking of waves; 2) the energetics of a surfer riding a wave; and 3) the fluid mechanics of a surfboard and includes topics such as "Wave Refraction: What Makes Black's so Good," in reference to the famous Black's Beach in La Jolla, Calif. # # # Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. The National Research Council has ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide. Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,300, and annual expenditures of approximately $155 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration. |
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