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Andrew Bloxom

Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer at NYYC American Magic; Design Engineer at Morrelli & Melvin

Check out this cool simulation! Andrew Bloxom creates computer models to show how the boat moves through air and water.

YEARS AS AN ENGINEER: 16

COLLEGE(S) ATTENDED: Virginia Tech

COLLEGE MAJOR/DEGREE: B.S. Ocean Engineering, Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering

EXPLAIN YOUR CURRENT JOB ROLE: I normally work full-time for a yacht design firm in California, doing naval architecture, structural and hydrodynamic engineering to help design sailboats and power boats. In 2021, I joined American Magic as a CFD [computational fluid dynamics] engineer to develop and manage computer simulations of the aerodynamics of the yacht. I develop computer models of the sail's forces over a range of different wind and water conditions, as well as studies of the sails, deck, crew and cockpits for the America's Cup racing this fall in Barcelona, Spain. The goal is to figure out how to make the boat go as fast as possible.

WHY DID YOU BECOME AN ENGINEER? As a child, I loved to fix broken things and clean them up to be new again. A telltale sign of a man-made object is the ability to take something apart and put it back together. If you think of all the things we interact with each day that a person or team of people worked, it's quite inspiring! Designing and building things that make other people's lives better, more fun, less challenging, is very rewarding and purposeful.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB? The best part is the visualization images that comes from a computer simulation. We are able to take the invisible and make it visible. From the vortical or turbulent structures in the wake, to the surface pressure and skin friction plots on the hull and sails, we are able to help the other designers and engineers see the design in a whole new way, which allows us to create new connections and improve the boat’s performance.

WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING THING ABOUT YOUR JOB? Time. When you have some of the best engineering software/tools and engineers all in one place, the biggest challenge is against the clock. From the moment one America's Cup competition ends, the race is on to design the next boat. Computer simulations offer us one way to improve the boat design, but we can always find new ways to get better data using high-performance computing resources. It's also a challenge to learn how to adapt to new advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning to find new ways to use and interpret the data we generate.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR KIDS AGES 8-12 WHO MIGHT WANT TO BECOME ENGINEERS? Find the everyday ways in which math is used by engineers to solve problems, make things better and learn about the world around us. Math is a foundational part of engineering, and you need to have an appreciation for that to do well. When I was in high school, I didn't take math seriously and wasn't accepted into engineering school as a result. I was able to work my way in, but by the time I left Virginia Tech, I took many more math classes than I had ever dreamed of. Once I realized I wanted to put my love of engineering and boats together, there were people who would say, "It's too hard to get into yacht design" . . . "there's no money in it.” So, remember to never let anyone else control the course of your dreams.