Fluid Mechanics and Transport

Fluid mechanics and transport research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Scieince focuses on the following areas:

  • Computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer
  • Tribology
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Compressible fluid flow
  • Advanced fluid mechanics
  • Hydrodynamic stability
  • Transport phenomena in biological systems
  • Microscale physicochemical hydrodynamics

Opportunities for Graduate Study

The departments offers an M.S./Ph.D. study track in mechanical engineering with a core in thermal fluids that encompasses fluid mechanics and transport phenomena, as well as thermodynamics.

The department also offers a program of study towards the Masters of Engineering (M.Eng) in Mechanical Engineering. This 30-credit degree program includes course work towards departmental requirements, an area of specialization, business and management fundamentals, and an internship or applied research experience. Students have the flexibility to specialize on topics of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermal and fluid systems relevant to preparation for an applied engineering career.

Fluid Mechanics and Transport Faculty

Adrian Bejan
J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor
Professor Bejan's research covers a wide range of topics in thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, convection and porous media. More recently, he developed the constructal law of design in nature.
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Chuan-Hua Chen
Alfred M. Hunt Faculty Scholar and Assistant Professor
Our research deals with experimental and theoretical investigations of small-scale physicochemical hydrodynamics, where transport and interfacial phenomena closely interact with each other. By manipulating surface tension actively and passively, e.g. using electric fields and surface structures, we...
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Laurens E. Howle
Associate Professor
Hydroelastic modeling of deformable structures, transport in thermal and chemical systems, experimental and computational fluid dynamics, nonlinear and complex systems, heat and mass transport in biological systems, stability of fluid motions, machine learning, data mining, econophysics, reduced...
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Edward J. Shaughnessy
Professor
Analytical, experimental, and computational studies of flow problems arising in biology, medicine, and biotechnology as well as in more traditional mechanical engineering applications.
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Teh Y. Tan
Professor
Impurity diffusion mechanisms and point defects in silicon and III-V compounds; line defects; precipitation and gettering; kinetic processes of defect evolution; x-ray scattering and electron microscopy; crystal growth in nano-scale
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Benjamin B. Yellen
Assistant Professor
Theoretical and Experimental studies on concentration gradients arising in ionic fluids and magnetic liquids.
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Pei Zhong
Professor
Ultrasound-targeted gene delivery and activation; Synergistic combination of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and immunotherapy for cancer treatment; Innovations in shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) technology; and Mechanics and bioeffects of acoustic cavitation.
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