Complex high-speed computing technology developed at Mississippi State continues to contribute to a United States Navy goal of developing more fuel-efficient vessels.

The university's National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Computational Field Simulation recently joined a new University of Michigan-led project that also involves Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula.

A $2.1 million, three-year award from the Office of Naval Research is funding the multi-team collaboration. The goal is to develop a more efficient design for stern flaps—small bottom surface extensions of a ship's rear hull.

"There is evidence that stern flaps reduce drag and, consequently, fuel consumption," said Dr. David L. Whitfield, director of the ERC's Computational Simulation and Design Center.

Whitfield earlier led MSU's successful development of a computational code now used by the Navy on submarine and surface ship calculations.