Current Events
The tallest part of a sailboat, holding the sails up, is called this
What is the Mast?
The very front of a ship is called this
What is the Bow?
This professor teaches Surf Engineering Analysis
Who is Dr. Robert Weaver?
The daily rise and fall of the ocean along the shore
What are tides?
This type of fish has wing-like fins that inspired underwater gliders for energy-efficient propulsion
What are Stingrays?
This warm Pacific current has been blamed for rainy winters in California and failed anchovy harvests in Peru
What is El Niño?
This iconic ship hit an iceberg in 1912 and sank on its maiden voyage
What is the Titanic?
This professor has been on shark week multiple times and has discovered her own species of shark (the Six-Gilled Atlantic Shark)
Who is Dr. Toby Daly-Engel?
The distance between two wave crests
What is the Wave Length?
Dolphins use this biological system to navigate and detect objects underwater, inspiring sonar
What is Echolocation?
Surfers (and lifeguards!) know these dangerous, narrow currents that pull swimmers away from shore
What are Rip Currents?
This is what you call the left side of a ship
What is Port?
This professor did research in corrosion and corrosion control of reinforced concrete at the Living Seas Aquarium in Epcot
Who is Dr. Geoffrey Swain?
This natural process causes beaches to shrink as waves carry away sand
What is Coastal Erosion?
These animals use jet propulsion to move, pushing water out of their bodies
What are squids?
When Finding Nemo’s dad needed a ride to Sydney, he caught this famous current
What is the Eastern Australian Current?
This engineering principle explains why a steel ship floats but a steel paperclip sinks
What is Displacement?
This professor led a group for 4 years that programmed the robotic software for Automatic Wet Processing Tools at Steag MicroTech in Pliezhausen, Germany.
Who is Dr. Stephen Wood?
These walls are built along the coast to prevent erosion, but they can hurt beaches
What are seawalls?
Engineers study these streamlined fish to design faster ships
What are Tuna?
This force, caused by Earth’s rotation, makes ocean currents spin clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere
What is the Coriolis Effect?
A ship’s speed is often measured in these units
What are knots?
This professor received NASA's Certificate of Recognition and Award in 1999 for the Design of a Shallow Water Optical Water Quality Buoy. The project description was published in NASA Tech Briefs.
Who is Dr. Charles Bostater?
The bottom of a wave is called this
What is a Trough?
Engineers mimic the pulsing motion of this invertebrate to develop energy-efficient propulsion for underwater robots
What are Jellyfish?