Applied Computing Innovation Centre — University of New Brunswick

ACIC

About ACIC

A University of New Brunswick research centre for applied computing, ocean engineering, and scientific software development.

The Applied Computing Innovation Centre (ACIC) is a research centre at the University of New Brunswick, housed in the Faculty of Engineering. ACIC brings together researchers in mechanical engineering, geodesy and geomatics engineering, and computer science to solve complex engineering problems that sit at the intersection of high-performance computing, physics-based modelling, and data science.

The centre's founding research team collectively generated more than $4 million in research revenue over the decade preceding ACIC's formal establishment — all directly related to the applied computing work the centre now carries forward. ACIC's engagement with DRDC on submarine hydrodynamics dates to 2000, making it one of the longest-running academic partnerships in the Victoria Class research program.

ACIC operates its own high-performance computing infrastructure, develops its own simulation tools, and trains graduate and undergraduate researchers in the specialized methods required for defence and ocean engineering work. Since 2006, ACIC has trained approximately 15 MSc students, 7 PhD students, and 7 research engineers in submarine-specific research.

Research Directors

Dr. Andrew Gerber

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Brunswick

Andrew Gerber is a co-founder and research director of ACIC, and the principal investigator on ACIC's Victoria Class submarine CFD program. His research has been focused on high-performance computing methods for fluid dynamics — particularly the development of GPU-accelerated solvers and their application to submarine maneuvering simulation. He led the development of EXN/Aero, ACIC's in-house manycore CFD tool, and has been a partner to DRDC on numerical methods for DSSP since the early 2000s.

Research interests

Manycore High-Performance Computing · Methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics · Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics and Multiphase Flows

Selected publications

  • Bettle, Gerber, Watt. "Using Reduced Hydrodynamic Models to Accelerate the Predictor-Corrector Convergence of Implicit 6-DOF URANS Submarine Manoeuvering Simulations." Computers and Fluids, 102, 2014.
  • Zhang, Maxwell, Gerber, Holloway, Watt. "Simulation of the Flow over Axisymmetric Submarine Hulls in Steady Turning." Ocean Engineering, 57(1), 2012.
  • Eghbal, Gerber, Aubanel. "Algebraic Multigrid Employing Mixed Structured-Unstructured Data on Manycore Hardware." Journal of Computational Science, 2016.
  • Ryan, Gerber, Holloway. "A Time-Dependent Eulerian Model of Droplet Diffusion in Turbulent Flow." Computers and Fluids, 131, 2016.

Dr. Tiger Jeans

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Brunswick

Tiger Jeans is a co-founder and research director of ACIC, with expertise spanning submarine hydrodynamics, vortical flow physics, and ocean renewable energy. His work on flow separation from submarine hull forms, UUV docking systems, and hydrodynamic modelling of underwater vehicles has contributed directly to ACIC's collaboration with DRDC. He has been involved in NATO working groups on computational methods for marine and military vehicle stability and control.

Research interests

Submarine Hydrodynamics · Ocean Renewable Energy · Aerodynamics and Hydrodynamics · Vortical Flows · Computational Fluid Dynamics

Selected publications

  • Holloway, Jeans, Watt. "Flow Separation from Slender Bodies of Revolution in Steady Turning." Ocean Engineering, 108, 2015.
  • Watt, Roy, Currie, Gillis, Giesbrecht, Birsan, Seto, Heard, Carretero, Dubay, Jeans. "A Concept for Docking a UUV with a Slowly Moving Submarine Under Waves." IEEE Journal of Ocean Engineering, 2015.
  • Jeans, Fagley, Siegel, Seidel. "Irregular Deep Ocean Wave Energy Attenuation Using a Cycloidal Wave Energy Converter." International Journal of Marine Energy, 1, 2013.
  • Jirasek, Jeans, Martenson, Cummings, Bergeron. "Improved Methodologies for the Design of Maneuver for Stability and Control Simulations." Aerospace Science and Technology, 25(1), 2013.

Faculty

ACIC's submarine research program currently engages five UNB mechanical engineering faculty, with approximately ten graduate and undergraduate students and three industry and government partners active at any one time.

Dr. Juan Carretero

Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, UNB

ACIC expertise: Optimization

Dr. Joe Jall

Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, UNB

ACIC expertise: Experimental Fluid Mechanics

Dr. Matt Yao

Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, UNB

ACIC expertise: CFD Turbulence Modelling

Collaborating Group

UNB Ocean Mapping Group

ACIC collaborates closely with UNB's Ocean Mapping Group, a world-leading group in seafloor mapping, sonar data collection, and underwater positioning. The two groups have complementary capabilities: ACIC contributes physics-based fluid dynamic modelling and HPC computing, while the Ocean Mapping Group provides bathymetric data acquisition and analysis. Together, they have developed integrated workflows that connect sonar-derived ocean floor data with computational models — a combination that supports both scientific research and practical decision-making for marine operations.

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Institutional Affiliations

  • University of New Brunswick
  • Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC)
  • Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)
  • MARIN — Maritime Research Institute Netherlands
  • Submarine Hydrodynamic Working Group
  • NATO Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT) Programme
  • Australian Maritime College