State support  for modeling and simulation research at Old Dominion University has had its ups and downs, but this year the program may get help from President Obama, an inventor and an urban myth.

The inventor is Joe May, a Republican delegate from Loudoun County who heads up an electrical engineering and manufacturing firm. He's best known for devising the technology that creates that digital, yellow, first-down line football fans see in televised games, but he's also developed a variety of medical and manufacturing devices.

"Some people uncharitably say I'm in charge of harebrained ideas," May said.

He had one of those last year while watching "MythBusters" on the Discovery Channel. The show tested whether motorists could improve their gas mileage by driving in the wake of tractor-trailers. Turns out that urban myth is true - if you don't mind risking a sudden and excruciating death.

May realized the vacuum pulling those lunatic tail-gaters down the highway was also putting a strain on the truck's engine. He was still thinking about that TV show when he arrived at the state Capitol this winter for the legislative session.

May is chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and he's a senior member of a panel that oversees science and technology legislation. That puts him in contact with trucking industry representatives as well as scientists at ODU. He soon discovered that he wasn't the only one in Virginia worrying about how to streamline big trucks. He found his aerodynamic soulmate in Bob Ash, a professor of aerospace engineering at ODU.

"We are consuming, in my view, alarmingly large quantities of fuel to move products on highways," Ash said.

That translates into more costs for trucking companies and more smog for the rest of us to breathe. Because heavy trucks tend to get only six or seven miles to the gallon, there's a lot of room for improvement.

May and Ash started brainstorming ideas to streamline existing trucks by adding finlike attachments and other doohickies. May also kept finding other folks working on the same problem. He facilitated meetings between ODU, NASA's Langley Research Center and SOLUS Solutions and Technologies, a Virginia Beach firm. Del. John Cosgrove, an engineer and ODU alumnus, joined in the huddles.

The collaboration has resulted in plans to design aerodynamic improvements for trucks and to test them using modeling and simulation technology. The group hopes to do initial tests at the giant wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base before it is demolished this summer. Discussions are under way for using a 9,000-foot runway at NASA's Wallops Island site for final, real-life tests.

All of this is going to take money, and it just so happens the state is getting $70 million from the federal stimulus plan for energy projects. May, who is also a pilot, flew in the state's senior energy policy adviser last week to hear about the project. Steve Walz has $15 billion in requests for the stimulus funds, but Team Truck's impressive lineup has gotten his attention. Gov. Tim Kaine will announce his proposal for spending the stimulus money this week.

May said he has no financial interest in the project. He just likes coming up with harebrained ideas. It turns out one of those ideas could bring a welcome boost to one of ODU's most under-appreciated research programs.

Christina Nuckols is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. E-mail her at

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it [1].

State support  for modeling and simulation research at Old Dominion University has had its ups and downs, but this year the program may get help from President Obama, an inventor and an urban myth.

The inventor is Joe May, a Republican delegate from Loudoun County who heads up an electrical engineering and manufacturing firm. He's best known for devising the technology that creates that digital, yellow, first-down line football fans see in televised games, but he's also developed a variety of medical and manufacturing devices.

"Some people uncharitably say I'm in charge of harebrained ideas," May said.

He had one of those last year while watching "MythBusters" on the Discovery Channel. The show tested whether motorists could improve their gas mileage by driving in the wake of tractor-trailers. Turns out that urban myth is true - if you don't mind risking a sudden and excruciating death.

May realized the vacuum pulling those lunatic tail-gaters down the highway was also putting a strain on the truck's engine. He was still thinking about that TV show when he arrived at the state Capitol this winter for the legislative session.

May is chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and he's a senior member of a panel that oversees science and technology legislation. That puts him in contact with trucking industry representatives as well as scientists at ODU. He soon discovered that he wasn't the only one in Virginia worrying about how to streamline big trucks. He found his aerodynamic soulmate in Bob Ash, a professor of aerospace engineering at ODU.

"We are consuming, in my view, alarmingly large quantities of fuel to move products on highways," Ash said.

That translates into more costs for trucking companies and more smog for the rest of us to breathe. Because heavy trucks tend to get only six or seven miles to the gallon, there's a lot of room for improvement.

May and Ash started brainstorming ideas to streamline existing trucks by adding finlike attachments and other doohickies. May also kept finding other folks working on the same problem. He facilitated meetings between ODU, NASA's Langley Research Center and SOLUS Solutions and Technologies, a Virginia Beach firm. Del. John Cosgrove, an engineer and ODU alumnus, joined in the huddles.

The collaboration has resulted in plans to design aerodynamic improvements for trucks and to test them using modeling and simulation technology. The group hopes to do initial tests at the giant wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base before it is demolished this summer. Discussions are under way for using a 9,000-foot runway at NASA's Wallops Island site for final, real-life tests.

All of this is going to take money, and it just so happens the state is getting $70 million from the federal stimulus plan for energy projects. May, who is also a pilot, flew in the state's senior energy policy adviser last week to hear about the project. Steve Walz has $15 billion in requests for the stimulus funds, but Team Truck's impressive lineup has gotten his attention. Gov. Tim Kaine will announce his proposal for spending the stimulus money this week.

May said he has no financial interest in the project. He just likes coming up with harebrained ideas. It turns out one of those ideas could bring a welcome boost to one of ODU's most under-appreciated research programs.

Christina Nuckols is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. E-mail her at

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it [1].