University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

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Research Interest

Alexis Kaminski

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Ho-Shang and Mei-Li Lee Faculty Fellow

6115 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kaminski@berkeley.edu

For more information see: Current Classes Taught
Alexis Kaminski Website

Alexis Kaminski is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Alexis received her BSc (2010) and MSc (2012) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta, and her PhD (2016) in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining UC Berkeley in 2021, she worked as a postdoc in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University and at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory.

 

November 2021 – update for graduate recruitment: I am recruiting PhD students to start in fall 2022! For more information, please see https://akkaminski.github.io


Research Description:

Stratified flows, hydrodynamic instabilities, transition to turbulence, mixing and entrainment, internal waves, non-normal stability, upper-ocean dynamics, physical oceanography, geophysical and environmental fluid dynamics.

 

Key Publications:

AK Kaminski, KR Helfrich, and J Pedlosky 2020 An experimental investigation of the Rossby two-slit problem. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 893, A4.

J Tu, D Fan, Q Lian, Z Liu, W Liu, A Kaminski, and W Smyth 2020 Acoustic observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz billows on an estuarine lutocline. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 125(4), JC015385.

AK Kaminski and MR Flynn 2020 Modal decomposition of polychromatic internal wave fields in arbitrary stratifications. Wave Motion 95, 102549.

AK Kaminski and WD Smyth 2019 Stratified shear instability in a field of pre-existing turbulence. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 862, 639-658

AK Kaminski, CP Caulfield, and JR Taylor 2017 Nonlinear evolution of linear optimal perturbations of strongly stratified shear layers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 825, 213-244.

RM Sahuri, AK Kaminski, MR Flynn, and M Ungarish 2015 Axisymmetric gravity currents in two-layer density-stratified media. Environmental Fluid Mechanics 15(5), 1035-1051.

AK Kaminski, CP Caulfield, and JR Taylor 2014 Transient growth in strongly stratified shear layers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 758, R4.

CJ Prend, GR Flierl, KM Smith, and AK Kaminski 2021 Parameterizing eddy transport of biogeochemical tracers. Geophysical Research Letters 48, e2021GL094405.

AK Kaminski, EA D’Asaro, AY Shcherbina, and RR Harcourt 2021 High-resolution observations of the North Pacific transition layer from a Lagrangian float. Journal of Physical Oceanography 51, 3163-3181.

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

Research focus: Classical Fluid Mechanic; Aircraft Wake Vortices; Biofluid Mechanics; Vortex Dynamics; Rotating Flows; Experimental Techniques; Bluff Body Aerodynamics; Turbulent Flows.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Our research group is focused on the fluid dynamics of vortices, waves, turbulence, and hydrodynamic stability. We use traditional analysis, CFD, and more recently Deep Learning and Bayesian Optimization. Our studies are motivated by geophysics, astrophysics, physics and engineering. Our research on fluids is carried out with large scale computations using spectral methods, Raynolds Averaged …

Theoretical & Applied Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Research focus: Theoretical Fluid Dynamics; Nonlinear Wave Mechanics; Ocean and Coastal Waves Phenomena; Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tide and Offshore Wind Energy); Nonlinear Dynamical Systems; Fluid Flow Control.

FLOW Lab

Our research focuses on the advancement of the physical understanding of high-Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows. The present focus is on flows relevant to energy production, offshore applications, and naval hydrodynamics. Our research combines advanced experimental techniques, instrument development, and theoretical model development.

Shawn Shadden

Vice Chair of Graduate Studies
Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6149 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
shadden@berkeley.edu
(510) 664-9800

For more information see: Shadden Lab
Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Computational Mechanics, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Dynamical Systems, Fluid Dynamics, Lagrangian Coherent Structures, Mathematical Modeling, Thrombosis

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Shadden’s publications, please visit the Shadden Lab website.

Ömer Savaş

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6113 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
savas@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-5705

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

To view Professor Savaş’ CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Fluid mechanics: aircraft wake vortices; biofluid mechanics; boundary layers; instrumentation; rotating flows; transient aerodynamics; turbulent flows; vortex dynamics

 

To learn more about Professor Savaş’ research, please click here.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Savaş’ publications, please click here.

Stephen Morris

Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering

6115 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
morris@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-5545

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Continuum mechanics, especially problems involving the interaction of bulk and surface continua: micromechanics of pressure-induced solid-solid phase changes (e.g. the olivine-spinel transformation); interfacial phenomena (e.g. evaporating thin films); electroporation of cell membranes.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Morris’ publications, please click here.

Mohammad R. K. Mofrad

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering

208A Stanley Hall #1762
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1762
mofrad@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-8165

For more information see: Molecular Cell Biomechanics Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Education

1991  B.A.Sc., Sharif University of Technology

1994  M.A.Sc., University of Waterloo

1999  Ph.D., University of Toronto

 

Professional Experience

1999 – 2000  Post-Doc, Computer Science Department, University of Toronto

2000 – 2002  Post-Doc, MIT and Harvard Medical School/Mass. General Hospital

2002 – 2004  Principal Research Scientist, Biological and Mechanical Engineering, MIT

2005 – 2010  Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley

2010 – 2013  Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley

2011               Visiting Professor, Department of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

2012 – 2013  Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

2012 – Present  Faculty Scientist, Molecular Biophysics, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

2012 – 2014  Faculty Director, UC Berkeley Master of Bioengineering (M.Eng) Program

2013 – Present  Professor, Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

2014 – 2015  Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley-UCSF Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) Program


Research Description:

Multiscale Biomechanics of Cardiovascular Disease and Brain Injury; Molecular and Cellular Mechanobiology; Mechanics of Integrin-Mediated Focal Adhesions; Mechanics of the Nuclear Pore and Nucleocytoplasmic Transport

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Mofrad’s publications, please visit the Molecular Cell Biomechanics Laboratory website and PubMed.

Philip S. Marcus

Tien-Modak Chancellor’s Chair in Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Tien-Modak Chancellor’s Chair in Engineering

6121 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
pmarcus@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-5942

For more information see: Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Algorithms, atmospheric flows, convection, fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, ocean flows, numerical analysis, turbulence.

 

Key Publications:

2015

“High S/N Keck and Gemini AO imaging of Uranus during 2012–2014: New cloud patterns, increasing activity, and improved wind measurements”, LA Sromovsky, I de Pater, PM Fry, HB Hammel, P Marcus, June 2015, Icarus, vol. 258 pp. 192–223, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.05.029.

 

“Dramatic Change in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot”, AA Simon, MH Wong, JH Rogers, GS Orton, I de Pater, X Asay-Davis, RW Carlson, PS Marcus, March 2015, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, vol. 46 pp. 1010. — PDF

 

To view a complete list of Professor Marcus’ publications from previous years, please visit the Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory website.

Simo Mäkiharju

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6119 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
makiharju@berkeley.edu

For more information see: FLOW Lab
Current Classes Taught

Simo A. Mäkiharju is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley.  Prof. Mäkiharju’s undergraduate studies were in Energy Technology at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. In 2005 he received his Mechanical Engineering M.Sc. from the Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Michigan. His graduate research focused on the reduction of hydrodynamic drag by gas injection and the development of a time-resolved x-ray densitometry imaging system for the study of multiphase flows. He continued at the University of Michigan as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2012-2014) and as an Assistant Research Scientist (2014-2015) investigating single- and multiphase flow mixing in channel flows while continuing the development of x-ray based 2D and 3D flow measurement techniques. Starting as an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley in January of 2016, he is continuing to pursue his research interest in advancing the physical understanding of high-Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows through experimental research, primarily through the development and use of advanced experimental techniques.


Research Description:

One of the central objectives of Professor Mäkiharju’s research is to advance the physical understanding of high Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows primarily through experimental research, and through the development and use of advanced experimental techniques. Multiphase flows are encountered in almost every aspect of modern life, including offshore applications, biological flows, energy production, chemical processing, and naval hydrodynamics. Specific topics Professor Mäkiharju has worked on include the reduction drag on marine vehicles, mitigation of damage and noise caused by cavitation in naval and industrial applications, and efficient handling of single- and multiphase flows in energy production applications.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Mäkiharju’s publications, please click here.

M. Reza Alam

American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering

6111 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
reza.alam@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-2591

For more information see: TAF Lab
Current Classes Taught

Born in Yazd, a small historic city at the geographic center of Iran, Reza received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering and MSc in Applied Mechanics from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He then joined the Mechanical Engineering program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2005, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2008, and then served as a Postdoctoral associate (2008-2009) and Lecturer (2009-2011) at MIT. In July 2011 Reza joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, CA, as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering.


Research Description:

Theoretical Fluid Dynamics, Nonlinear Wave Mechanics, Ocean and Coastal Waves Phenomena, Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tide and Offshore Wind Energy), Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Fluid Flow Control

 

Key Publications:

Publications in 2015

Jalali, M. A.; Khoshnood, A., and Alam, M.-R., “Microswimmer-Induced Chaotic Mixing“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2015), In Press, [PDF]

 

Zareei, A. and Alam M.-R., “Cloaking in Shallow Water Waves via Nonlinear Medium Transformation“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2015), Volume 778, pp. 273-287

 

Timmerberg, S, Börner, T., Shakeri, M., Ghorbani, R. and Alam M.-R., “The “Wave Bridge” For Bypassing Oceanic Wave Momentum“, Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy (2015), [PDF]

 

Couston, L. A., Mei, C. C., and  Alam, M.-R. “Landslide Tsunamis in Lakes“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Volume 772 / June 2015, pp 784- 804. [PDF]

 

Nia, H. T., Jain, A. D., Liu, Y., Alam, M.-R., Barnas, R., and Makris N.C.,  “The evolution of air resonance power efficiency in the violin and its ancestors“ Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, A 471: 20140905. (2015). [PDF]

 

Börner, T., and  Alam, M.-R. “Real Time Hybrid Modeling for Ocean Wave Energy Converters“, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 43, pages 784–795, (2015).

 

Please visit the TAF Lab website for the previous years’ publications.