Sebastiao Appleton Figueira
Born and raised in Portugal, Sebastiao Appleton Figueira, a junior at the College Station campus, moved to the United States with his family when he was in middle school. Coming from a largely coastal country and a family with naval and engineering roots, Figueira found a home away from home in the ocean engineering department — drawn to the versatility an ocean engineering degree would offer him.
“I could explore anything from renewable energy to ship manufacturing, naval architecture, even some electrical design,” said Figueira. “And then just the prospect of what is to come in the future. Ocean levels are rising. And being part of a small group in the workforce that actually has the knowledge to solve those problems, and knowing that I’m going to be one of the most prepared to do so through this program, makes me extremely excited.”
Listen and learn about how Figueira has overcome challenges as an international student: tx.ag/RisingAbove
Richards Sunny
Doctoral candidate Richards Sunny works alongside associate professor Dr. Juan Horrillo in Galveston to develop and improve computational fluid dynamics simulations to map, predict and research volcanic tsunamis. These models will be a vital tool in the future assessment and mitigation of submarine volcanic tsunami hazards, disaster response and planning.
“(Ocean engineering) had all the elements I wished for,” said Sunny. “Challenging optimization problems, such as designing deep-water floating platforms, the potential to develop innovative ideas in the field of renewable ocean energy to help humankind, and the ability to study, analyze, model and predict natural disasters.”
While the technology behind tsunami research has modernized and advanced, there are still many unknowns associated with underwater volcanic tsunamis, including the characterization of tsunami waves and the relationship between the source eruption mechanism and wave generation.
“Results from this work would help us to predict the propagation and inundation of potential underwater volcanic tsunamis and help emergency managers and agencies create evacuation plans and save lives,” said Sunny.