Dr. Brad Buckham

Dr. Brad Buckham works to improve the designs and operating strategies for offshore technologies using computer simulations. Presently, his work focuses on two particular cabled devices: remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) used in deepsea explorations and moored wave energy converters. The common problem in both applications is the cable dynamics: the cable mechanics can dominate the motion of either system. Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Buckham's research group has evolved simulation software that can be used to design and study ROV and WEC systems.

Dr. Buckham's WEC research is now executed from within the West Coast Wave Initiative (WCWI)—a $2.5M program funded by Natural Resources Canada, the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and several private sector partners. As the WCWI Director, Dr. Buckham works to establish a foundation of resource knowledge, community engagement and technical know-how that can be used by his partners in future demonstrations of wave energy conversion in British Columbia.