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Home / Academics / Academic Majors / Mechanical Engineering / Mechanical Engineering Faculty and Staff / CAPT Michael Plumley

Michael Plumley, Ph.D., M.S.E., P.E., Captain, USCG

Mechanical Engineering
Professor Department of Engineering

CAPT Michael Plumley earned a Bachelor of Science degree, with High Honors, in Mechanical Engineering from the Coast Guard Academy in 1998. He served as Damage Control Assistant aboard the Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Alert before taking an assignment as Port Engineer at the Coast Guard Naval Engineering Support Unit in Boston, Massachusetts, where he oversaw maintenance and repair of the Coast Guard’s Northeastern United States Search and Rescue fleet. In 2009, he was assigned as chief engineer of the Coast Guard’s first National Security Cutter, CGC Bertholf, shortly after commissioning. His tour of duty included the cutter’s first three operational patrols and first drydock.

CAPT Plumley served as Chair of the Coast Guard Academy’s Mechanical Engineering department from 2016-2020, overseeing the program’s largest enrollment, a successful ABET re-accreditation visit, and the program’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has over ten years of collegiate teaching experience, including several upper level courses and research projects on respirator design, water desalination, engine efficiency, autonomous vehicles, and biomedical systems. He served as a visiting faculty member at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he conducted threat assessment in support of homeland security initiatives, and as a CMC Scholar at Sandia National Laboratory, where he investigated LNG carrier fire protection. CAPT Plumley is director of the Coast Guard Academy’s National Lab Internship program, and a member of the Maritime Risk Symposium planning committee. He serves on a technical committees of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) and regularly conducts scholarly reviews. He is a qualified sailing safety instructor for the Coast Guard’s Coastal Sail Training Program and holds a 100-ton Coast Guard Master’s license. CAPT Plumley is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Connecticut.

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015
  • M.S., Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, United States Coast Guard Academy, 1998

Courses Taught

  • Advanced Engineering Math
  • Design Project Management
  • Mechanical Engineering (Capstone) Design
  • Modeling and Control of Dynamic Systems
  • Thermodynamics
  • Heat Transfer
  • Statics and Engineering Design
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Ships and Maritime Systems
  • Heat Transfer
  • Machine Design
  • Engineering Experimentation
  • Mechanisms

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Patent – “Buoy Hull Corrosion Detection System,” M. Dougall, J. Rath, B. Curtis, L. Otto, R. McClimans, M. Williams, T. Rodziewicz, R. Adrezin, M. Plumley, Patent Number US10,692,352: June 23, 2020.
  • Ott et al. “Guidance Document for Manufacturing Masks and Respirators for protection against COVID-19” May 21, 2020
  • Siobhan McGirl. “Coast Guard Academy Working to Find Best Design for 3D Printed Masks” Published 5/6/2020.
  • Plumley, M. and Pennington, J. (2018). “Opportunities for Remote Emissions Sensing to Determine Maritime Vessel MARPOL Compliance”. Presentation. STLE 72th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Minneapolis, MN
  • Plumley, M., Wong, V., and Martins, T. “Oil Degradation in a Diesel Engine with Dual-Loop Lubricating System,” Tribology Transactions. September, 2017
  • Plumley, M., Wong, V., and Martins, T. “Demonstrating Improved Fuel Economy Using Subsystem Specific Lubricants on a Modified Diesel Engine,” Tribology Transactions. September, 2016.
  • Plumley, M. and Wong, V. (2014). “Analysis of Shear-thinning on Engine Friction Using Mineral and PAO Base Oils”. Presentation. STLE 69th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Orlando, FL.
  • Plumley, M., Wong, V., Park, S. and Molewyk, M. (2014) “Optimizing Base Oil Viscosity for Power Cylinder Friction Response Temperature Dependency,” SAE Technical Paper 2014-01-1658.
  • Plumley, M. (2009) “Using BlimpDuino in an Introductory Undergraduate Dynamic Modeling and Control Course,” 2009, ASEE Northeast Regional Annual Conference Proceedings
  • Plumley, M. (2009) “CGA Cadets on Cutting Edge of Innovation at National Laboratories.” USCG Engineering, Electronics and Logistics Quarterly. Summer 2009.
  • Foley, A.C. and Plumley, M. (2009) “Enthalpy in a Box. Teaching Open v Closed System Work Terms.” AC 2009-1620 ASEE 2009 Annual Conference and Exposition, Austin, Texas.
  • Freeman, R.W., Phillips, E.H., Plumley, M., Adrezin, R.S., Egelhoff, C.J., (2009) “Service Learning Workshops to Recruit Women into Engineering.” Proceedings of NE ASEE 2009 Conference, Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 2009.
  • Plumley, M., Palm, W. and Simpson, W. (2008) “A Common Design-Build-Test Project Incorporating Freshman and Senior Undergraduate Analysis Skills,” 2008, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings.

Professional Memberships

  • Licensed Professional Engineer, Connecticut
  • Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers
  • American Society of Engineering Educators

Contact Information

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Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

  1. If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  2. If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  3. If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  4. If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  5. All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.

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