Fluids and STructures Laboratory
Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering
University of Tennessee
How does pine need profile affect interactions with falling raindrops?
2020, Physics of Fluids
The non-circular profile of pine needles modulates impact based on their orientation and contribute to their ability to shed the water of rainfall.
Check out our research highlight in Nature Review Physics!
How do mosquitoes land on hosts undetected?
2020, Scientific Reports
Mosquito landings can be described as controlled crashing in which they use leg and proboscis deformation to lengthen impact time. Mosquitoes behavior has underdamped oscillators, displaying 1-3 bounces before rest.
How do small wings dry themselves?
2020, Soft Matter
2020, Proceedings of the Royal Society A
Highly-couple fluid and solid mechanics make drop ejections difficult to predict, but adhesion and elastic theory shed light on these beautiful and rapid drying sequences.
How do changes in free surface conditions modulate splashes?
2020, Journal of Fluids and Structures
2018, Physics of Fluids
The presence of penetrable fabric atop a liquid surface induces cavity-forming impacts and greater splash heights when compared to the impacts of identical hydrophilic impactors hitting clean water.
How mosquitoes cope with slippery takeoffs?
2018, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics
With a swift kick of the hind leg, a mosquito combats slippage when pushing off from smooth, slippery takeoff platforms.
Organisms exhibit fluidic behaviors
When in groups, creatures large and small, including locusts, midges, starlings, ants, and humans display characteristics that have analogs in fluid mechanics. We can prescribe density, viscosity, surface tension, and phase change to such aggregations.
BIO
I am an NSF CAREER award recipient and fluid dynamicist with expertise in the mechanics of interfaces and interested in the biomechanics of animal locomotion. My work in these areas has generated broad interest across the fields of engineering, biology and robotics, resulting in publications in a number in high-impact interdisciplinary journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, as well as popular journals such as Physics of Fluids.
Over the years, my research has also played a role in educating the public in science and engineering. I have been an invited guest on numerous television and radio shows to discuss my research, including Good Morning America, National Public Radio, The Weather Channel, and Discovery Channel.
APPOINTMENTS
University of Tennessee Knoxville, Assistant Professor, August 2021
University of Central Florida, Assistant Professor, August 2016 – July 2021
Meggitt PLC, Senior Engineer, Global Programme Jan 2014 – July 2016
EDUCATION
Georgia Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, PhD 2014
Georgia Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, MSME 2012
Georgia Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, BSME 2009
How do citrus jets work?
2018, PNAS
Commonplace, but a wonder of nature. Material properties and geometry work in concert to produce hair-sized jets that can travel faster than 20 m/s. And wow, do they smell good!