Ethan Almquist
Ethan Almquist is a graduate student in mechanical engineering whose research aims to solve critical challenges in naval ship design and power system diagnostics. Specifically, he is working to create energy-efficient systems that minimize electrical consumption and maximize ship performance. As a MathWorks Fellow, Ethan will develop a behavioral simulation method to permit much faster than real-time emulation of detailed power streams for shipboard power plants. His approach utilizes data from nonintrusive power monitoring systems to model both steady-state and transient events at the power level without the computational demands of traditional numerical simulations. His project will enable rapid, highly detailed studies of shipboard power flow, fuel consumption, and operational capability based on actual or hypothetical mission profiles at low computational cost. Ethan’s work relies significantly on MATLAB and Simulink and demonstrates the power of these tools to solve critical problems in modern ship design. In addition to delivering valuable tools and methods for ship design, Ethan’s fast-solver approach has the potential for broad applications in other domains, including renewable energy and microgrid operation.