Dr. Virginia G. DeGiorgi, a mechanical engineer at the Naval Research Laboratory, has been selected to receive the 2006 Professional Award in Engineering from the University of Louisville's J.B. Speed School of Engineering. The Professional Award in Engineering is given annually to recognize career performance in engineering, exceptional efforts to foster the development of young engineering students, exceptional ability in planning and directing significant projects in technical engineering, or exceptional contribution by an individual to technical engineering knowledge.
Dr. DeGiorgi heads the System Design and Integration Section in NRL's Materials Science and Technology Division. Her research includes 3D aspects of fracture mechanics; anisotropic material response; stretch-forming of aluminum sheets; test specimen design; structural integrity analysis of components; simulation and modeling of active materials such as piezoelectric ceramics and shape memory alloys; simulation and modeling of fracture including crack initiation and growth; and simulation and modeling of electrochemical systems such as impressed current cathodic protection systems and galvanic corrosion couples. A common element to all work is the computational simulation of material response that incorporates a system level approach.
Since 2003 DeGiorgi has assisted in program management in Office of Naval Research (ONR) Swampworks. Swampworks programs are problem-centric, not limited to a specific technical area and allowed a higher risk than traditional ONR research. Partnerships between diverse technical areas are encouraged. From 2001 to 2003 DeGiorgi was program manager on the ONR TechSolutions program which uses direct input from fleet personnel in determining research problems of interest. She was chosen to be part of the initial TechSolutions team that reinvented many of the standard processes at ONR with regard to program development and performer selection.
Prior to coming to NRL in 1986, she worked as a stress analyst for Westinghouse Electric Corporation's Breeder Reactor Component Project from 1980 to 1986 and as a senior scientist for Geo-Centers, Inc. in 1986. DeGiorgi received her bachelor of science and her master of engineering degrees in civil engineering (both in 1980) from the University of Louisville. She received her Ph.D. in engineering mechanics (1986) from Southern Methodist University.
DeGiorgi has authored or contributed to more than 100 journal article and conference proceedings. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Wessex Institute of Technology of Great Britain. She has received numerous recognitions, including the ONR Chief of Naval Research Award of Merit for Group Achievement for TechSolutions (2003), and an Achievement Award for Contributions to The Technical Cooperation Program Collaboration in Fracture Control of Naval Structures (1994-95), the Outstanding Faculty Research Paper (University of Kentucky - 1990), and the NRL Special Achievement Award (1988). DeGiorgi is a member of the editorial advisory board for the Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements Journal (1998-present) and the Boundary Element Methods Journal (2000-present).
The University of Louisville (UL) traces its roots back to 1798, and the Speed Scientific School at UL was established in 1924 with an endowment from the James Breckenridge Speed Foundation. James Breckenridge Speed (1844-1912) was an industrial pioneer in the City of Louisville. In 2004, the J.B. Speed Scientific School officially changed its name to the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
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