Graduate in Mechanical Science Engineering

B.A., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Mechanical Engineering; 2008.

Research Interests:

• Numerical Methods
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Compressible Turbulent Flows

Current Research

My current research is part of a joint project with the University of Texas at Austin (UT). The purpose of the project is to characterize the behavior of volcanic eruptions on Io, Jupiter's innermost moon. As the gas expands, the density decreases and becomes so rarefied that continuum mechanics cannot accurately describe the gas dynamics. The group at UT uses Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) software to model flows that transition from a continuum to rarefied regime. I am responsible for devising a numerical model to simulate and define the extent of the continuum regions within these eruptions. The flow variables at the defined breakdown surface are read into the DSMC code as an inflow boundary, and the plume evolves subject to the equations of motion and boundary conditions specified by the UT group.