Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering
Welkom by Universiteit Stellenbosch

Prof Gerhard Venter

Chairman and Professor: Mechanics Division

In November 2006, Prof Gerhard Venter was appointed as an Associate Professor in the Mechanics Division of the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering. He was promoted to full Professor in June 2008.

He did his PhD on non-dimensional response surfaces for structural optimization with uncertainty. His fields of speciality are in numerical design optimization: General-purpose, structural and multidisciplinary optimization. Prof Venter is currently doing research on particle swarm optimization, piecewise approximations, design of experiments, minimizing manufacturing cost, parallel computing and approximation methods.

                                  email: gventer@sun.ac.za

Academic Qualifications

  • BEng (Mech), University of Pretoria, 1992
  • Honors (Mech), University of Pretoria, 1993
  • MSc (Mech), Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1995
  • PhD (Engineering Mechanics), University of Florida, 1998

 

Professional Experience

Jun 2011–Current

Stellenbosch University, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Chairman: Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic
Engineering

January 2008 - current:Stellenbosch University, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Head: Mechanics Division
1 Oct 2000 - Oct 2006:Vanderplaats Research & Development, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado
VisualDOC Project Manager / Lead Developer
Senior Research & Development Engineer / Developer
Oct 1998–Oct 2000Vanderplaats Research & Development, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado
Senior Research & Development Engineer / Developer
May 1995-Aug 1998:Department of Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics and Engineering Science,University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Graduate Research Assistant
May 1996-Aug 1996Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Michigan
Summer Intern

 

Fields of Research

  • Particle Swarm Optimization
  • Piecewise approximations
  • Design of Experiments
  • Minimizing manufacturing cost

 

Fields of Interest

  • Numerical design optimization: General-purpose, structural and multidisciplinary optimization
  • Parallel computing
  • Approximation methods
  • Design of Experiments

 

Chapters in books and articles in refereed journals

[1] M.P. Venter and G. Venter. Overview of the Development of a Numerical Model for an Inflatable Paper Dunnage Bag. Accepted for publication in Packaging Technology and Science, 2011.
[2] G. Venter and S. J. Scotti. Accounting for Proof Test Data in a Reliability Based Design Optimization Framework. Accpeted for publication in the AIAA Journal, 2011.
[3] J.N. Stander, G. Venter, and M.J. Kamper. Review of Direct Drive Radial Fux Wind Turbine Generator Mechanical Design. Accepted for publication in Wind Energy, 2011.
[4] G. Venter. Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering, chapter Review of Optimization Techniques, pages 5229–5238. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
[5] F.A.C. Viana, G. Venter, and V. Balabanov. An Algorithm for Fast Optimal Latin Hypercube Design
of Experiments. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 82(2):135–156, Apr 2010.
[6] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Constrained particle swarm optimisation using a multi-objective formulation. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 40(1–6):65–76, Jan 2010.
[7] G. Venter and G. N. Vanderplaats. Using a filter-based SQP algorithm in a parallel environment. Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information, and Communication, 6(12):635–648, Dec 2009.
[8] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. A Parallel Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm Accelerated by Asynchronous Evaluations. Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information, and Communication, 3(3):123–137, Mar 2006.
[9] J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski and G. Venter. Imparting desired attributes in structural design by means of multi-objective optimization. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 29(6):432–444, Jun 2005.
[10] X. Qu, G. Venter, and Haftka R. T. New Formulation of Minimum-Bias Central Composite Experimental Design and Gauss Quadrature. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 28(4):231– 242, Oct 2004.
[11] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. Multidisciplinary Optimization of a Transport Aircraft Wing using Particle Swarm Optimization. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 26(1):121– 131, Jan 2004.
[12] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. Particle Swarm Optimization. AIAA Journal, 41(8):1583– 1589, Aug 2003.
[13] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Two-Species Genetic Algorithm for Design under Worst Case Conditions (Invited Paper). Evolutionary Optimization, An International Journal on the Internet, 2(1):1–19, 2000.
[14] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Using Response Surface Approximations in Fuzzy Set Based Design Optimization. Structural Optimization, 18(4):218–227, Dec 1999.
[15] G. Venter, R. T. Haftka, and J. H. Starnes, Jr. Construction of Response Surfaces for Design Optimization. AIAA Journal, 36(12):2242–2250, Dec 1998.

 

Refereed conference proceeding papers

[1] J. Reinecke, T. W. Von Backström, and G Venter. Effect of a Diffuser on the Performance of an Ocean Current Turbine. In Accepted to the 9th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Series, 2011.
[2] F. A. C. Viana, R. T. Haftka, R. Hamman, and G Venter. Efficient Global Optimization with Experimental Data: Revisiting the Paper Helicopter Design. In Proceedings of the 52nd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Denver, CO, AIAA-2011-2099, Apr 4 – 7 2011.
[3] R. Hamman, S. J. Van der Spuy, and G. Venter. An Efficient and Flexible Parametrization Scheme for Describing Airfoil Profiles. In Proceedings of the 2nd African Conference on Computational Mechanics, Cape Town, South Africa, Jan 2011.
[4] B.R. Potgieter and G. Venter. Experimental Modal Analysis and Model Validation of Antenna Structures. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Bali, Indonesia, Nov 25 – 27 2009.
[5] J.N. Wise and G. Venter. Optimization of a low-speed wind turbine using support vector regression. In Submitted to the 8th World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Lisbon, Portugal, June 1–5 2009.
[6] G Venter and G. N. Vanderplaats. Using a filter-based SQP algorithm in a parallel environment. In Submitted to the 50th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Palm Springs, California, May 4 – 7 2009.
[7] N. J. D. Joubert and G. Venter. Numerical design optimization for the KAT. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Athens, Greece, Sep 2–5 2008.
[8] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Constrained particle swarm optimisation using a multi-objective formulation. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Athens, Greece, Sep 2–5 2008.
[9] F. A. C. Viana, V. Balabanov, G. Venter, J. Garcelon, and V. Steffen Jr. Generating optimal latin hypercube designs in real time. In Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Seoul, Korea, May 21–25 2007.
[10] F. A. C. Viana, V. Steffen Jr, G. Venter, and V. Balabanov. On how to implement an affordable optimal latin hypercube. In Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering: COBEM 2007, Brasilia, Brazil, Nov 5–9 2007.
[11] M. Sekishiro, G. Venter, and V. O. Balabanov. Combined Kriging and Gradient-Based Optimization Method. In Proceedings of the 11th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Portsmouth, VA, AIAA-2006-7091, Sep 6–8 2006.
[12] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. A Parallel Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm Accelerated by Asynchronous Evaluations. In Proceedings of the 6th World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 30 – Jun 3 2005.
[13] R. Hassan, B. Cohanim, O. de Weck, and G. Venter. A Comparison of Particle Swarm Optimization and the Genetic Algorithm. In Proceedings of the 46th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Austin, Texas, AIAA-2005-1897, Apr 18 – 21 2005.
[14] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. A Particle Swarm Optimization Accelerated by Incomplete Evaluation. In Book of Abstracts of the JSCES International Workshops on Advances in Computational Mechanics, Tokyo, Japan, Nov 3 – 6 2004.
[15] V. O Balabanov and G. Venter. Multi-Fidelity Optimization with High-Fidelity Analysis and Low-
Fidelity Gradients. In Proceedings of the 10th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization
Conference, Albany, NY, AIAA 2004–44459, Aug 30 – Sep 1 2004.
[16] G. Venter, V. O. Balabanov, and G. Vanderplaats. What-If Post-Processing of General-Purpose Optimization Results Using VisualDOC. In Proceedings of the 10th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Albany, NY, AIAA 2004–4566, Aug 30 – Sep 1 2004.
[17] V. O. Balabanov and G. Venter. Response Surface Optimization with Discrete Variables. In Proceedings of the 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Palm Springs, CA, AIAA 2004–1872, Apr 19 – 22 2004.
[18] G. Venter, R. T. Haftka, and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. Robust Design Using Particle Swarm and Genetic Algorithm Optimization. In Proceedings of the 5th World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Lido di Jesolo, Italy, May 19 – 23 2003.
[19] X. Qu, R. T. Haftka, and G. Venter. New Formulation of a Minimum-Bias Experimental Design Based on a Gauss Quadrature. In Proceedings of the 5th World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Lido di Jesolo, Italy, May 19 – 23 2003.
[20] V. O. Balabanov, R. Vitali, G. Venter, and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. Use of Baysian Analysis and Decision Theory to Improve Particle Swarm Optimization Performance. In Proceedings of the 5th World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Lido di Jesolo, Italy, May 19 – 23 2003.
[21] J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski and G. Venter. Imparting Desired Attributes by Optimization in Structural Design. In Proceedings of the 44th AIAA SDM Conference, Norfolk, VA, AIAA 2003-1546, Apr 7 – 10 2003.
[22] V. O. Balabanov, C. Charpentier, D. K. Ghosh, G. Quinn, G. N. Vanderplaats, and G. Venter. VisualDOC: A Software System for General Purpose Integration and Design Optimization. In Proceedings of the 9th AIAA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Atlanta,
GA, AIAA-2002-5513, Sep 6 – 8 2002.
[23] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. Multidisciplinary Optimization of a Transport Aircraft Wing using Particle Swarm Optimization. In Proceedings of the 9th AIAA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Atlanta, GA, AIAA 2002-5644, Sep 4 – 6 2002.
[24] G. Venter and J. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski. Particle Swarm Optimization. In Proceedings of the 43rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Denver, CO, AIAA 2002–1235, Apr 22 – 25 2002.
[25] D. K. Ghosh, J. H. Garcelon, V. O. Balabanov, G. Venter, and G. N. Vanderplaats. VisualDOC - a flexible design optimization software system. In Proceedings of the 8th AIAA/USAF/NASA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Long Beach, California, AIAA 2000–4931, Sep 6 – 8 2000.
[26] S. Candan, J. H. Garcelon, V. O. Balabanov, and G. Venter. Shape Optimization using ABAQUS and VisualDOC. In Proceedings of the 8th AIAA/USAF/NASA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Long Beach, California, AIAA 2000-4769, Sep 6 – 8 2000.
[27] G. Venter and B. Watson. Efficient Optimization Algorithms for Parallel Applications. In Proceedings of the 8th AIAA/USAF/ NASA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Long Beach, California, AIAA 2000–4819, Sep 6 – 8 2000.
[28] G. Venter, V. O. Balabanov, and J. H. Garcelon. Constructing High Quality Response Surface Approximations Using a Genetic Algorithm. In 4th EuroMech SolidMechanics Conference (Oral Presentation), Metz, France, pages 21–30, Jun 26 – 30 2000.
[29] G. Venter and B. Watson. Exploiting Parallelism in General Purpose Optimization. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Applications of High Performance Computing in Engineering, Maui, Hawaii, pages 21–30, Jan 26 – 28 2000.
[30] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Two Species Genetic Algorithms for Design under Worst Case Conditions. In Proceedings of the 3rd World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Buffalo, New York, May 17 – 21 1999.
[31] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Response Surface Approximations for Designing Dropped-Ply Composite Laminates. In Proceedings of the 7th AIAA/NASA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, St. Louis, Missouri, pages 1145–1163 (Part 2), AIAA 98–4856, Sep 2 – 4 1998.
[32] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Response Surface Approximations for Designing Dropped-Ply Composite Laminates with Uncertainty. In Proceedings of the 13th US National Congress of Applied Mechanics Proceedings, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Jun 21 – 26 1998.
[33] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Using Response Surface Methodology in Fuzzy Set Based Design Optimization. In Proceedings of the 39th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Long Beach, California, pages 641–652 (Part 1), AIAA 98–1776, Apr 20– 23 1998.
[34] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. Minimum-Bias Based Experimental Design for Constructing Response Surfaces in Structural Optimization. In Proceedings of the 38th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Kissimmee, Florida, pages 1225–1238 (Part 2), AIAA 97-1053, Apr 7 – 10 1997.
[35] G. Venter, R. T. Haftka, and Chirehdast M. Response Surface Approximations for Fatigue Life Prediction. In Proceedings of the 38th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Kissimmee, Florida, pages 1383–1396 (Part 2), AIAA 97–1331, Apr 7 – 10 1997.
[36] G. Venter, R. T. Haftka, and J. H. Starnes, Jr. Construction of Response Surfaces for Design Optimization Applications. In Proceedings of the 6th AIAA/NASA/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Bellevue, Washington, pages 548–564 (Part 1), AIAA 96–4040, Sep 4 – 6 1996.
[37] G. Venter and R. T. Haftka. A Two Species Genetic Algorithm for Designing Composite Laminates Subjected to Uncertainty. In Proceedings of the 37th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, pages 1848–1857 (Part 3), AIAA 96–1535, Apr 15 – 17 1996.