Brandon J. Dillon
8800 Hunters Mill, Rd
Blacksburg, VA 24060
www.BJDillon.net
bdillon@vt.edu
540-961-2164


EDUCATION: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Blacksburg, VA
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
GPA: 3.65 – Concentration in Fluid Mechanics
Advisor: Dr. C. L. Dancey
Degree Expected: Spring 2008


Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Blacksburg, VA
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
GPA: 3.45 – Concentration in Acoustics
Minor in Economics


EMPLOYMENT: Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA
August 2006 – Present
Graduate Research Assistant

Working as part of a research group in the Kelso Baker Hydraulics Lab to determine a model of interaction between large-scale hydrodynamic turbulent events and the entrainment of sediment in waterways. Experimentation is carried out in a 68ft flume equipped with a 3-componenet laser doppler velocimeter (LDV). Terascale computational fluid dynamic simulations (CFD) of fluid-sediment interaction will be conducted using Virginia Tech’s System X during the summer of 2007.


Crutchfield, Inc – Charlottesville, VA
April 2006 – Present
Engineering Intern

Worked in a team on the production of Crutchfield’s “Virtual Audio Showroom” (US Patent 7,096,169). I experimentally measured the transfer functions of a wide variety of home and car loudspeakers. This information was used to create digital filters for a real-time convolution engine (BruteFIR). I also wrote a telnet console for the convolution engine, and added module that allowed it to dynamically load filter coefficients from disk in real time (2,200 lines GNU C).


Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA
Undergraduate Research Assistant (2 projects)
  • Acoustic Phased Array :: May 2005 – April 2006
  • Worked alone to develop a 64 channel, 200kS/sec, 16bit, portable data collection system for use with a 2m acoustic phased array. 9,800 line C# program controlled DAQ system registries, high-speed DMA transfers, GUI, post processing, and data conversion. Signal conditioning hardware was designed with digitally assignable gain and anti-aliasing cut-off frequency.

  • Biomass Fuel Fouling :: May 2005 – Present
  • Worked with a visiting post-doc to characterize chicken litter, and determine its potential use as a biomass fuel. The analysis focused on soft metal deposits (‘slag’) of the fuel using: a.) inductively coupled plasma elemental analysis (ICPE), b.) a scanning electron microscope with EDS capability, and c.) visual microscopes. Investigation of this subject developed a new low-cost method to characterize the viability of biomass fuels for use in furnaces (not yet published).

WordFile, Inc. – Atlanta, GA
September 2001 – August 2002
Partner

Founded and co-managed a venture to develop an artificial intelligence (CYC) assisted document management system for enterprise use. The system would allow multi-layered and ontological structure, storage, and retrieval of scanned documents. The system used an abstracted, knowledge-enhanced searching method that allowed for natural language searching of concepts. I oversaw the company from inception, raised venture capital, and led six team members.


VOLUNTEER
EMPLOYMENT:
CARITAS Shelter – Richmond, VA
June 2003 – August 2004
Volunteer Supervisor

CARITAS is a co-op of Richmond churches that supports the homeless. Primary duties involve coordinating shelter and delivering operational supplies (cots, linens, etc). I acted as the delivery supervisor and liaised between CARITAS, the various churches, shelters, and linen cleaning services. I managed five part-time employees, and occasionally drove a 20-ft. box truck.


General District Court – York County, VA
May 2001 – August 2001
Volunteer Clerk of the Court

I assisted the clerk staff with customer service, paperwork, errands, and created the court’s webpage -- including a primer on courtroom etiquette.


EXPERIENCE: Computation
– Visual C#, GNU C, C++, Python, Matlab, LAM/MPI
– OpenFOAM, Ansys CFX, BruteFIR, ParaView, Electronics Workbench

Mechanics
– Experienced with MIG and Stick Welding
– Experienced with many types of shop and hand tools
– Overhauled personal vehicles and boats
– Excellent soldering skills

Notary
– Notary Public for the Commonwealth of Virginia
   (Commission Expired 2005)

HOBBIES: Philosophy of education, creativity, epistemology, and metaphysics.
Sailplane Flight – Soaring Society of America Member

PUBLICATIONS: Dillon, B.J., Kim S-S., Agblevor, F.A. 2006. “Slagging Properties of Poultry Litter Ash During Combustion.”
In: The Deans' Forum on Energy Security and Sustainability. 06 October 2006. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va