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Math Matters

WHOI post-doc Kakani Katija Young explains some of the physics, math, and engineering she used to predict the buoyancy and stability for the re-built human-occupied vehicle Alvin. Young, named an Emerging Explorer in 2011 by the National Geographic Society, studies how the movement of small planktonic animals causes turbulence and mixing in the oceans. Her background includes aerospace and systems engineering, skills that enabled her to calculate the sub’s weight, buoyancy, and center of gravity under various operating conditions, based on information about 450 individual parts of the vehicle.(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)