Engineering and Science of Surfboard Story in the San Diego Union Tribune

Congratulations to Benjamin Thompson and to the team of mechanical engineering undergraduates from UC San Diego who were featured in a story printed in today's San Diego Union Tribune.

Here is the online version of the Union Tribune science of surfing story by Lily Leung.  (Check out the videos here and here and the photos are on the Jacobs School Flickr account. the original Jacobs School surfing story is here.)

Surf Video on Engadget

The UC San Diego science of surfing project from MAE undergrads and a Structural engineering graduate student made its way engadget to this week. The full story is here.

The exposure pushed one of the two related surfing videos on YouTube to almost 10,000 views. Check out the second Jacobs School surfing video on YouTube here.

Surfboard with Onboard Computer / Photos

The full story on the surfboard with an onboard computer is here.
(See even more photos on the Jacobs School Flikr site)

Videos are here.

caption for photo above: (L-R): Dan Ferguson, Trevor Owen, Benjamin Thompson, Julia Tsai, Victor Correa Schneider. Photo credit: UC San Diego

(See even more photos on the Jacobs School Flikr site)


Above caption: Dan Ferguson presses the button that triggers recording of the data captured by the boards sensors. Photo credit: UC San Diego



Above caption: Benjamin Thompson takes the surfboard with onboard computer down to Windansea Beach in La Jolla, California. Photo credit: UC San Diego


Above caption: (L-R): Benjamin Thompson, Julia Tsai, and Trevor Owen with their data-collecting surfboard. Photo credit: UC San Diego


Above caption: (L-R): Benjamin Thompson surfs the data-collecting surfboard. The onboard computer is visible at the front of the board. Photo credit: UC San Diego


Above caption: Victor Correa Schneider prepares to monitor the data sent from the surfboard to land in real-time. Photo credit: UC San Diego



Above caption: (L-R): Structural engineering Ph.D. student Benjamin Thompson preps one of the surfboards he plans to use in upcoming board flexibility tests. Photo credit: UC San Diego


Above caption: Dan Ferguson arrives at Windansea Beach with the data-collecting surfboard with onboard computer in the passenger seat.

(See even more photos on the Jacobs School Flikr site)

Surfboard with Onboard Computer / YouTube VIDEOS

The full story about the surfboard with onboard computer is here. Surfing and surfboard pictures here.

Souped Up Surfboard Video in the Works

A group of undergrads from the Jacobs School recently finished up a cool project involving a surfboard and an on-board computer. The video and text for the story are nearly done...and will be posted here early next week.

Below is one of the key components of the high-tech surfboard.

Any thoughts on how it might be used on a surfboard?