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NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division World-class modeling, simulation, and supercomputing in support of the NASA mission

Marian Nemec

Computational Physics Branch Chief (Acting)

Photo of Marian Nemec, Acting Computational Physics Branch Chief

As acting chief of the Computational Physics Branch, Marian Nemec leads a team of researchers in a wide range of areas, including next-generation code development for simulation-based analysis, optimization, and uncertainty quantification; asteroid threat assessment; heliophysics; planetary formation; and high-fidelity large-scale simulations for aerospace applications across all speed regimes, including rotorcraft; algorithms for new computing architectures; non-equilibrium flows; and ablation modeling for spacecraft heat-shields. He also serves on the Ames Research and Technology Council.

During his 22-year NASA career, Nemec has played a key role in critical technologies for advancing aeronautics and space exploration missions through use of high-fidelity simulations on supercomputing systems. He conducted research for numerous aerospace vehicles, including the X-59, Orion spacecraft, heavy-lift launch vehicles, aircraft with highly flexible wings and distributed flap systems, hypersonic aircraft, and planetary entry vehicles; as well as asteroid airburst damage predictions.

His research has focused on error estimation and error control in simulation-based analysis and optimization, and development of algorithms for multidisciplinary sensitivity analysis. As co-developer of NASA’s Cart3D simulation package, he transformed his research into production-level code by creating the adjoint error estimation and mesh refinement (aero) module and the aerodynamic shape optimization framework of Cart3D. With this module, Cart3D became the first major computational fluid dynamics tool to meet NASA Standard STD-7009 for quantification of errors in simulation data. Cart3D is currently in use throughout the U.S. government, aerospace industry, and academia.

Nemec received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. He is a recipient of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s Associate Administrator Individual Award for Technology and Innovation and the agency’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.