Hi, I’m Madison Carter. This summer, I investigated smart surface architectures for drag reduction, drawing inspiration from dolphin skin to enhance flow characteristics over aerodynamic and hydrodynamic surfaces. My project had two major components: (1) using tailored surface roughness on flat plates to study boundary layer development in a wind tunnel using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), and (2) testing a dolphin-skin-inspired compliant surface in a tow tank to analyze drag forces and flow fields. We examined the effect of leading-edge conditions and material textures on flow transition and drag generation. While the compliant surface showed unexpected increases in drag—likely due to surface defects—the preliminary data from both wind tunnel and tow tank experiments provide valuable insights for future refinements in geometry and material selection.