From 0 to 10 mph in 100 Microseconds: The Fluid Mechanics of Feeding Strikes in a Carnivorous Plant

Ulrike K Müller

Associate Professor
Department of Biology
California State University at Fresno
Fresno, CA

Fish capture prey by suction feeding—they quickly expand their mouth cavity to entrain prey in a suction flow. Current suction feeding models can explain fish, but not the small aquatic carnivorous plant bladderwort, who captures zooplankton in mechanically triggered underwater traps. With a mouth less than 0.5 mm wide, these traps are among the smallest known that work by suction—a mechanism that would not be effective in the creeping-flow regime. To understand what makes suction feeding possible on this small scale, we compare analytical flow models with experimentally observed flows, recorded at frames rates of up to 50 000 Hz. We found maximum flow speeds of 5 m/s (similar to those in adult fish) and extreme accelerations of up to 40 000 m/s2. Complete within 0.5 milliseconds, the bladderwort feeding strike outpaces the development of a boundary layer, creating a fast and efficient inward jet.

Ulrike Müller is an Associate Professor in Biology at California State University Fresno. She earned a PhD in Marine Biology from Gröningen University, Netherlands. She has conducted research in the labs of R McN Alexander (Leeds University, UK), W Nachtigall (Saarbrücken University, Germany), CP Ellington (Cambridge University, UK), JL van Leeuwen (Wageningen University, Netherlands) and Hao Liu (Chiba University, Japan) and has published work in Nature and Science. Her research interests center around bio fluid dynamics and range from swimming to suction feeding, studying fish, insects, and carnivorous plants. She is an associate editor at the Proceedings B of the Royal Society.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Flavor Matters: The Compositional Effects of Fuels

Margaret S. Wooldridge

Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Efficient and clean energy remains a global challenge. Recent efforts focus on new fuel feed stocks, new methods to power the transportation and stationary power sectors, and improving efficiencies of power systems. Professor Wooldridge’s research includes improving combustion efficiencies and minimizing air toxic emissions through low temperature, high compression ratio methods; enabling the successful integration of biofuels into the ground and air transportation infrastructure; and controlling particle formation and growth in combustion systems to engineer advanced materials and minimize soot emissions.

At the University of Michigan (UM), the Wooldridge research group has developed unique strategies to experimentally interrogate complex chemically reacting systems and to provide quantitative understanding of the fundamental mechanisms limiting energy solutions. This presentation will present recent results on the fundamental autoignition properties of different fuels and the implication on combustion performance. Although combustion chemistry has been studied extensively at high-temperatures, there are few quantitative data available at conditions directly relevant to advanced modes of engine operation, such as low temperature, highly dilute, boosted engines or turbines fired on syn-gas (H2, CO, etc.) mixtures. The UM rapid compression facility (RCF) is a unique device designed to isolate combustion chemistry at conditions directly relevant to advanced energy concepts. Results from the UM RCF have revealed new understanding of fuel chemistry and ignition behavior. The results highlight where our fundamental understanding is strong as well as the complexities and synergies of fuel blends. The fundamental ignition chemistry studies are complemented by internal combustion engine studies. Advanced engine operating modes produce lower emissions and higher indicated thermal efficiencies. Traditional and non-traditional fuel blends can augment or suppress the advantages of advanced engine operating modes. Time permitting, results from optically accessible research engines on ignition and combustion phenomena comparing reference gasoline and ethanol fuels will also be presented.

Professor Margaret Wooldridge is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 1995; her M.S.M.E. in 1991 from S.U. and her B.S. M.E. degree from the University of Illinois at Champagne/Urbana in 1989. Prof. Wooldridge’s research program spans diverse areas where high-temperature chemically reacting systems are critical, including power and propulsion systems, fuel chemistry, and synthesis methods for advanced nanostructured materials. She is a 2013 recipient of the Department of Energy Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for exceptional contributions to the DOE mission to advance national, economic, and energy security of the U.S. She is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the recipient of numerous honors including the ASME George Westinghouse Silver Medal, ASME Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal, an NSF Career Award, and the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educator Award. Professor Wooldridge is the past Director of the Automotive Engineering Program at the University of Michigan and past co-director of the Global Automotive and Manufacturing Program.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Using Massively Parallel Simulation to Study Human Disease

Amanda Randles

Lawrence Fellow
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA

The recognition of the role hemodynamic forces have in the localization and development of disease has motivated large-scale efforts to enable patient-specific simulations. When combined with computational approaches that can extend the models to include physiologically accurate hematocrit levels in large regions of the circulatory system, these image-based models yield insight into the underlying mechanisms driving disease progression and inform surgical planning or the design of next generation drug delivery systems. Building a detailed, realistic model of human blood flow, however, is a formidable mathematical and computational challenge. The models must incorporate the motion of fluid, intricate geometry of the blood vessels, continual pulse-driven changes in flow and pressure, and the behavior of suspended bodies such as red blood cells. In this talk, I will discuss the development of HARVEY, a parallel fluid dynamics application designed to model hemodynamics in patient-specific geometries. I will cover the methods introduced to reduce the overall time-to-solution and enable near-linear strong scaling on up to 1,572,864 core of the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer. Finally, I will present the expansion of the scope of projects to address not only vascular diseases, but also treatment planning and the movement of circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream.

Amanda Randles is a Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Center for Applied Scientific Computing at LLNL. Working with Professors Efthimios Kaxiras and Hanspeter Pfister, she completed her Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Harvard University with a secondary field in Computational Science in 2013. In 2010 she obtained her Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Harvard University. Prior to graduate school, she worked for three years as a software developer at IBM on the Blue Gene Development Team. Her primary roles were in application development and performance analysis. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in both Computer Science and Physics from Duke University.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015
12:00 Noon
Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB 248)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Low Mach Number Simulation of Turbulent Combustion

John B. Bell

Center for Computational Sciences and Engineering
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley, CA, 94720

Numerical simulation of turbulent reacting flows with comprehensive ki- netics is one of the most demanding areas of computational fluid dynamics. High-fidelity modeling requires accurate fluid mechanics, detailed models for multicomponent transport and detailed chemical mechanisms. An important aspect of turbulent flames in most combustion systems is that they occur in a low Mach number regime. By exploiting the separation of scales inherent in low Mach number flows one can potentially obtain significant computa- tional savings, enabling a wider range of problems to be modeled. However, accurate numerical solution of the low Mach number reacting flow equations, which are structurally similar to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, introduces a number of challenges. Here, we discuss some of these issues, focusing on treating the low Mach number constraint and the coupling of processes with different temporal scales. Results illustrating the methodol- ogy on turbulent combustion problems with detailed chemistry and transport will be presented.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Optimal Actuator and Sensor Placement for Feedback Flow Control

Kevin K. Chen

Viterbi Fellow
Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

Feedback control has an enormous potential to manipulate fluid flows in desirable ways. It may one day effect, for instance, a significant improvement in vehicle performance and efficiency. One fundamental question has remained unanswered, however: where should the feedback system’s actuators and sensors be located in the flow? The state of the art is shockingly insufficient; the vast majority of flow control studies use trial and error, or otherwise flawed heuristics.

In this seminar, we will explore why some actuator and sensor placements are more effective than others. Specifically, we will examine the optimal control of the Ginzburg-Landau and Orr-Sommerfeld/Squire equations, using localized actuators and sensors. By implementing a novel algorithm for the gradient of a control performance measure with respect to actuator and sensor positions, we can iterate efficiently toward optimal positions in these fluid flow models. The control theoretical and physical interpretations of the optimal placements yield a set of heuristics that may help control designers predict effective actuator and sensor placements. In particular, we will discuss the respective pros and cons of heuristics based on fundamental control limitations, eigenmodes, sensitivity to spatially localized feedback, optimal growth, and impulse responses.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Computational Methods for Moving-Boundary Problems in Science and Engineering

Evan Gawlik

Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Many of the most important and challenging problems in computational science and engineering involve partial differential equations posed on moving domains. Notable examples include fluid-structure interaction, phase-change problems, cardiovascular flow, fracture mechanics, and biolocomotion. This talk will present novel numerical methods for the solution of such problems, as well as novel mathematical tools for analyzing the accuracy of these and other numerical methods. I will first introduce a family of high-order finite element methods for moving-boundary problems that can handle large domain deformations with ease while representing the geometry of the moving domain exactly. At the core of our approach is the use of a universal mesh: a background mesh that contains the moving domain for all times and conforms to its geometry at all times by perturbing a small number of nodes in the neighborhood of the moving boundary. I will then introduce a unified analytical framework for establishing the convergence properties of a wide class of numerical methods for moving-boundary problems. This class includes, as special cases, the technique described above as well as conventional deforming-mesh methods (commonly known as arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian, or ALE, schemes). I will present applications to a variety of problems from science and engineering throughout the talk.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Recent Research in CFD and Aerodynamics

Alejandra Uranga

Research Engineer
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

This talk will present two research areas in aerodynamics. The first part will focus on the simulation of flows around straight and swept wings with separation-bubble transition at low Reynolds numbers. The findings are relevant to the design of Micro Air Vehicles and the study of animal flight. We use an Implicit Large Eddy Simulation approach with a high-order Discontinuous Galerkin finite element method. The physical formulation is based only on first principles, and does not rely on explicit empirical subgrid models. The simulations were used to quantify the relative importance of Tollmien-Schlichting and Cross-Flow wave instabilities for a range of wing sweep angles. We also demonstrate the importance of non-linear TS and CF instability interactions for intermediate sweep angles.

In the second part of this presentation we will present recent theoretical and experimental work targeting new energy-efficient transport aircraft. Novel configurations together with boundary layer ingesting propulsion promise very large savings in fuel burn even with current structural and engine technology. The experimental work is the first definitive measurement of the aerodynamic benefits of boundary layer ingestion for a realistic transport aircraft configuration.

Alejandra Uranga is a Research Engineer in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She holds a MASc from the University of Victoria, BC, Canada, and a PhD degree from MIT. Her research has been in Computational Fluid Dynamics, specifically the modeling and simulation of turbulence and transition. She is currently the project Technology Lead for design, development, simulation, and wind tunnel testing of an advanced transport aircraft concept under the NASA N+3 program.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Integrated Modeling, Planning, and Control for Automated Micro Robotic Manipulation

Ashis Gopal Banerjee

Research Scientist
Complex Systems Engineering Laboratory
GE Global Research
Niskayuna, NY

Automated manipulation of micro-scale objects using force field-based robotic actuators takes place in dynamic and uncertain environments, where challenges arise due to partially modeled problem physics, stochastic dynamics, sensing noise, and the need for extremely fast control updates. These challenges necessitate an effective integration of system dynamics modeling with manipulation planning and individual object motion control to achieve robust and flexible automation.

In this talk, I will demonstrate the benefit of an integrated approach using optical robotic manipulation as a case study. A high-fidelity Langevin dynamics simulator is developed to model the probability of trapping an object in an optical field. The model is used in a partially observable Markov decision process algorithm to plan paths for multiple objects concurrently while avoiding and recovering from collisions with other freely diffusing objects. Experiments on a holographic tweezers set-up demonstrate successful transport of 2 micron diameter silica particles across the imaged workspace. The optically trapped particles act as robotic fingers to grasp biological cells, leading to indirect cell manipulation that prevents laser exposure induced cell damage.

I will conclude by briefly presenting a functional analysis-based regression method to scale up the manipulation operations to tens of cells and hundreds of particles. This kind of scalability has tremendous potential in realizing hybrid micro robotic manipulation systems involving multiple actuation forms to develop novel medical diagnostic devices, create functional biomimetic structures, assemble heterogeneous microsystems, and enable fundamental biological studies.

Ashis Gopal Banerjee is a Research Scientist in the Complex Systems Engineering Laboratory at General Electric Global Research (GEGR). Prior to joining GEGR, he was a Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He obtained his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and B.Tech. in Manufacturing Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has received several honors including the 2012 Most Cited Paper Award from the Computer-Aided Design journal, the 2009 Best Dissertation Award from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the 2009 George Harhalakis Outstanding Systems Engineering Graduate Student Award from the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland. His research interests include micro-bio robotics and automation, mobile multi-robot planning and control, cyber physical systems, dynamic system simulation, mathematical modeling, and smart manufacturing.

Thursday, February 26, 2015
10:15 AM
Laufer Library (RRB 208)

A Variational Multiscale Finite Element Method for Nearly Incompressible Solids and Fluid-Structure Interactions

Xianyi Zeng

Postdoctoral Associate
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Duke University
Durham, NC

We present a new approach to stabilize the finite element methods for explicit transient solid mechanics in the nearly incompressible regime using linear simplicial finite elements, and present its extension to fluid-structure interactions. In these problems, triangular/tetrahedral elements are usually preferred because they allow efficient and automated mesh generation for complicated geometries. However, standard Galerkin formulation typically leads to volume locking or instability on these elements in the case of nearly incompressible solid dynamics.

To overcome these difficulties, we describe a stabilized method that is based on a mixed formulation, in which the usual momentum equation is complemented by a rate equation for the evolution of the pressure field. The stabilization term is derived using a variational multiscale approach for isotropic linear elastic materials, and it is shown to greatly improve the stability of the methods without decreasing the order of the accuracy. Next we extend the methodology to nonlinear elastic materials by properly linearizing the variational form, and then to viscoelastic materials by introducing internal variables. Extensive numerical results in these contexts are presented to assess the accuracy and stability properties of the proposed methods for general solid mechanics.

Finally, we describe a similar VMS-based finite element method for shock hydrodynamics, and conclude the presentation by coupling the two methods to perform challenging shock-solid interaction computations.

Xianyi Zeng obtained a BS in mathematics and applied mathematics from Peking University, and a PhD in computational and mathematical engineering from the Stanford University. Before joining the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Duke University as a postdoc, he worked on his dissertation in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University while pursuing the doctoral degree. Dr. Zeng has broad interests in computational mechanics and their applications, including computational gas dynamics, computational solid mechanics, fluid-structure interactions, and numerical modeling of inelastic materials, among others.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Multi-Robot Systems for Monitoring and Controlling Large Scale Environments

Mac Schwager

Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering and Systems Engineering
Boston University
Boston, MA

Groups of aerial, ground, and sea robots working collaboratively have the potential to transform the way we sense and interact with our environment at large scales. They can serve as eyes-in-the-sky for environmental scientists, farmers, and law enforcement agencies, providing critical, real-time information about dynamic environments and cityscapes. They can even help us to control large-scale environmental processes, autonomously cleaning up oil spills, tending to the needs of crop lands, and fighting forest fires, while humans stay at a safe distance. This talk will present an overview of research toward the realization of this vision, giving special attention to recent work on distributed optimization-based control algorithms for groups of aerial robots to monitor large-scale environments. I will describe a general optimization-based control design methodology for synthesizing practical, distributed robot controllers with provable stability and convergence properties. I will also describe low-level control techniques based on differential flatness to coordinate the motion of teams of quadrotors in an agile and computationally efficient manner. Experimental studies with groups of quadrotor robots flying both outdoors and indoors using these controllers will also be discussed.

Mac Schwager is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Division of Systems Engineering at Boston University. He obtained his BS degree in 2000 from Stanford University, his MS degree from MIT in 2005, and his PhD degree from MIT in 2009. He was a postdoctoral researcher working jointly in the GRASP lab at the University of Pennsylvania and CSAIL at MIT from 2010 to 2012. His research interests are in distributed algorithms for control, perception, and learning in groups of robots and animals. He received the NSF CAREER award in 2014.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

—John Laufer Lecture—

Internal Gravity Wave Energy in the Oceans

Harry L. Swinney

Sid Richardson Foundation Regents Chair
Department of Physics
College of Natural Sciences
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

Internal gravity waves occur inside fluids whose density varies with depth, as happens in the atmosphere, oceans, and protoplanetary disks. In the oceans the internal waves produced by tidal flow over bottom topography travel thousands of kilometers, affecting ocean mixing and currents, and ultimately impacting the climate. However, it is difficult to make accurate estimates of the total internal wave energy in the oceans because of the complexity of ocean topography and the constructive and destructive interference of the waves. This talk presents results from laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and ocean observations that yield insight into internal wave dynamics and improve estimates of the total internal wave energy.

Thursday, March 26, 2015
1:00 PM
Ronald Tutor Campus Center, Trojan Ballroom A

Refreshments will be served at 12:00 Noon in Trojan Ballroom B.

Mechanics of Cell-Matrix Interactions in Three-Dimensions

G. (Ravi) Ravichandran

John E. Goode, Jr. Professor of Aerospace and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
and
Director, Graduate Aerospace Laboratories
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA

Biological cells are complex living systems that can be viewed as micromachines, which derive their many mechanical functions from the molecular motors within the cell. The forces cells apply to their surroundings control processes such as growth, adhesion, development, and migration. Experimental techniques have primarily focused on measuring tractions applied by cells to synthetic two-dimensional substrates, which do not mimic in vivo conditions for most cell types. This talk will describe an experimental approach to quantify cell tractions in a natural three-dimensional matrix. Cells and their surrounding matrix are imaged in three dimensions with confocal microscopy; cell-induced matrix displacements are computed using digital volume correlation; and tractions are computed directly from the full-field displacement data. The technique is used to investigate how cells employ physical forces during cell division, spreading and sensing. In a three-dimensional matrix, dividing cells apply tensile force to the matrix through thin, persistent extensions that in turn direct the orientation and location of the daughter cells. During spreading, cells extend thin protrusions into the matrix and apply force using these protrusions. The cell forces induce deformations along directed linear paths in the fibrous matrix. A constitutive model is developed that accurately predicts the propagation of cell-induced displacements through the matrix. The model describes how cells use nonlinearities in the fibrous matrix to enable long-range cell-cell mechanical communication.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Mathematical Models for the Shape of the Eiffel Tower

P. D. Weidman

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Colorado, Boulder
Boulder, CO

Equations modeling the shape of the Eiffel Tower are investigated. One model, based on equilibrium of moments, gives the wrong tower curvature. A second model, based on constancy of vertical axial stress, does provide a fair approximation to the tower’s skyline profile of twenty-nine contiguous panels. However, neither model can be traced back to Eiffel’s writings. Reported here is a new model embodying Eiffel’s concern for wind loads on the tower, as documented in his communication to the French Civil Engineering Society on March 30, 1885. The result is a nonlinear, integro-differential equation which may be solved to yield an exponential profile. An analysis of actual panel coordinates reveals a profile closely approximated by two piecewise continuous exponentials with different growth rates. This is explained by specific safety factors for wind loading that Eiffel & Company incorporated in the design and construction of the free-standing tower.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Optimal Hovering is Unstable

Yangyang Huang

Ph.D. Candidate (Advisor: Prof. Eva Kanso)

Insects and birds are often faced by opposing requirements for agile and stable fight. We are interested in exploring the interplay between aerodynamic effort and stability in a model system that consists of a Lambda-shaped flyer hovering in a vertically oscillating airflow. We determine effective conditions that lead to periodic hovering in terms of two parameters: the flyer’s shape (opening angle) and the effort (flow acceleration) needed to keep the flyer aloft. We find optimal shapes that minimize effort. We then examine hovering stability and observe a transition from unstable to stable hovering. Interestingly, this transition occurs at post-optimal shapes, that is, at increased aerodynamic effort. These results have profound implications on the interplay between stability and maneuverability (lack of stability) in live organisms as well as on the design of man-made air vehicles.

Quantifying Numerical Dissipation Rate in a Commercial CFD Code

Giacomo Castigliani

Ph.D. Candidate (Advisor: Prof. Andrzej Domaradski)

Recently it has become increasingly clear that the role of a numerical dissipation, originating from the discretization of governing equations of fluid dynamics, rarely can be ignored regardless of the formal order of accuracy of a numerical scheme used in explicit or implicit Large Eddy Simulations (LES). The numerical dissipation inhibits the predictive capabilities of LES whenever it is of the same order of magnitude or larger than the subgrid-scale (SGS) dissipation. The need to estimate the numerical dissipation is most pressing for lower order methods employed by commercial CFD codes. Following the recent work of Schranner et al., the equations and procedure for estimating the numerical dissipation rate and the numerical viscosity in a commercial code will be presented. The method allows to compute the numerical dissipation rate and numerical viscosity in the physical space for arbitrary sub-domains in a self-consistent way, using only information provided the code in question. It is the first time this analysis has been applied to low order compressible solver. The procedure is applied to three-dimensional LES simulations of a laminar separation bubble on a NACA-0012 airfoil at Re_c = 50,000 at 5 degree of incidence. It is shown quantitatively that, for this specific simulation and resolution, the numerical dissipation provided by the scheme is dominant compared to the SGS dissipation.

Shock Response of Iron-Based Metallic Glass Matrix Composites

Gauri Khanolkar

Ph.D. Candidate (Advisor: Prof. Veronica Eliasson)

Bulk metallic glasses (BMG) have recently garnered interest due to superior properties such as higher strength, toughness and hardness, arising out of the amorphous structure of these metallic alloys, as compared to their crystalline counterparts. However, BMGs are brittle and fail catastrophically following their elastic limit, which severely restricts their use in structural applications. To offset their brittleness, studies of various combinations of hard nano/micro particles, in situ precipitated crystalline phases and fibers embedded within the BMG, exist in the literature. These resulting materials are known as metallic glass matrix composites. In this work, we study the high strain-rate response of two Fe-based metallic glass matrix composites, containing varying amounts and types of in situ crystalline phases, when subjected to shock compression. Shock response is determined by making velocity measurements using Photonic Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) at the rear free surface of BMG samples, which have been subjected to impact from a high-velocity projectile launched from a powder gun. Experiments have yielded repeatable results indicating a Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) to be 12.5 GPa and 8 GPa respectively for the two composites. The former HEL result is higher than elastic limits for any BMG reported in the literature thus far. The effect of partial crystallization in the amorphous matrix of BMG on the observed shock response is further explored through a comparison of the results from both composites.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction: Methods Developed and Advanced Simulations Performed

Yuri Bazilevs

Professor
Department of Structural Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093

The presentation is focused on the computational framework that involves coupling of fluid and structural mechanics, where structures undergo large deformations. The formulation of fluid mechanics on the moving domain is presented, and efficient solution strategies for the underlying linear equation systems are discussed. A framework for computational fluid-structure interaction (FSI) based on the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation is presented. Basics of Isogeometric Analysis are also shown. The fluid-structure interface discretization is assumed to be nonmatching allowing for the coupling of standard finite-element and isogeometric discretizations for the fluid and structural mechanics parts of the FSI problem, respectively. FSI coupling strategies and their implementation in the high-performance parallel computing environment are also discussed, and computational challenges presented. Applications ranging from cardiovascular mechanics to full-scale offshore wind turbines are presented.

Yuri Bazilevs received his PhD from the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, and he is currently a Full Professor and Vice Chair in Department of Structural Engineering at University of California, San Diego. He has published nearly 100 archival journal papers on computational fluid and solid/structural mechanics, and fluid–structure interaction. He coauthored a book on isogeometric analysis, a methodology that is now widely used in computational mechanics. He also coauthored a book on computational fluid-structure interaction. He is an Associate Editor of Elsevier journal Computers and Fluids and Assistant Editor of Springer journal Computational Mechanics for the manuscripts on computational fluid mechanics and fluid–structure interaction. More information on Prof. Bazilevs can be found at jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/faculty/faculty_bios/findprofile.sfe?department=MAE&fmp_recid=273.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Spanload Implications for the Flight of Birds: On the Minimum Induced Drag of Wings

Al Bowers

Chief Scientist
Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center
NASA
Edwards, CA

Understanding the aerodynamic performance of birds is critical to understanding their flight, and estimating induced drag is indispensable. The first analytical tool to predict the performance of wings was Ludwig Prandtl’s lifting‑line theory which gave rise to the elliptical spanload formula circa 1920. The elliptical spanload remains the standard for understanding the flight behavior of birds and analyzing aircraft.

Avian researchers have used the elliptical spanload for a century, having no other model, skewing their conclusions; recent research has produced data demonstrating that the elliptical spanload does not fit as an explanation for things such as observed vortex formation, sharp-tipped wings, and bird formation flight. Some have conceded discrepancies between the flight of birds and their analytical predictions.

In 1933 Prandtl published a second paper with a superior spanload: any other solution produces greater drag. Avian research supports this alternate spanload as the solution and we show this new spanload to be a superior model to fit the observed data for the flight of birds. We present a unified theory explaining superior efficiency and coordinated control with a single solution. This superior spanload is able to explain three aspects of bird flight: how birds are able to turn and maneuver without a vertical tail; why birds fly in formation with their wingtips overlapped; and why narrow wingtips do not result in tip stall.

Using the new spanload on a flying‑wing research aircraft, we demonstrate proverse yaw (positive thrust at the wingtips) exists. We also show the 1920 elliptical spanload is an anomaly; the data of birds in flight and the analysis based on the elliptical spanload model do not agree. We argue that the new spanload model is the superior model for bird flight and aircraft.

Al Bowers is the Chief Scientist at the NASA Neil A Armstrong Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base. Al spent 20 years as a research aerodynamicist and as chief engineer of many aircraft projects including the NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle, the NASA SR-71s, and the NASA Kelly Eclipse Aerotow F-106 project. Al was an aerodynamicist on the F-8 Oblique Wing, the X-30 National Aerospace Plane, and the X-29 Forward Swept Wing. Al has also served at NASA Armstrong as the Chief of Aerodynamics, the Deputy Director of Research, the Special Assistant to the Associate Director of Aeronautics in Washington DC, the Director of Aeronautics Projects, and now as the Chief Scientist. He has been awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal. Al has spent 20 years working on the problem of flying wings, and how birds are able to fly without vertical tails.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Towards Advancing Health with Flexible Multi-Functional Electronics and Efficient Inference Architectures

Todd Coleman

Associate Professor
Department of Bioengineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Dr. Coleman will discuss his research group’s efforts in developing flexible multi-functional electronics and scalable inference tools to provide vulnerability profiles and decision support tools for improved clinical decision-making. The advancement of wearable, “tattoo-like” flexible electronics will be discussed, with an emphasis on new fabrication approaches compatible with scalable industry-adopted fabrication methods. Dr. Coleman will also introduce novel inference and decision support methods, which lie at the intersection of statistics, optimization theory, and large scale computing. These algorithms, which build upon the theory of optimal transport and Bayesian inference, will be demonstrated both in the cloud and in energy-efficient integrated circuit architectures. Dr. Coleman will discuss his vision of how this suite of human-computer interfaces on the one hand, blurs the distinction between man and machine, while on the other, promotes humans and computers playing to their individual strengths. Dr. Coleman will emphasize the importance of transform “big data” into “small, relevant” data for improved decision-making. Example partnership with clinicians on these endeavors will be provided within the context of perinatal health and chronic disease management. Throughout the talk, Dr. Coleman will emphasize the inter-disciplinary nature of this research, involving researchers from applied mathematics to electrical engineering to bioengineering to medicine.

Todd P. Coleman received B.S. degrees in electrical engineering (summa cum laude), as well as computer engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Michigan. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from MIT in electrical engineering, and did postdoctoral studies at MIT in neuroscience. He is currently an Associate Professor in Bioengineering at UCSD, where he directs the Neural Interaction Laboratory and co-Directs the Center for Perinatal Health. His research is highly inter-disciplinary, lying at the intersection of bio-electronics, medicine, and machine learning. He is conducting research in digital health by wedding his research group’s expertise in data interpretation and decision support with its recent foray into flexible electronics, exemplified by “epidermal electronics” that appeared in Science in 2011. Dr. Coleman’s research has been featured on CNN, BBC, and the New York Times. He has been recognized in the “Root 100” list of 100 African-Americans, ages 25 to 45, most responsible for 2015’s most significant moments, movements and ideas. Dr. Coleman has also been selected in 2015 as a National Academy of Engineering Gilbreth Lecturer and a TEDMED speaker.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Transitional/Turbulent Wakes

Man Mohan Rai

Senior Scientist
Computational Sciences
Exploration Technology Directorate
NASA Ames Research Center
Mountain View, CA

Understanding the complex flow physics of the near and intermediate wakes of airfoil sections used in turbomachinery is of considerable engineering importance. The near wake is of interest from the point of view of trailing edge design and the intermediate wake in understanding and predicting flow transition and unsteady loads on downstream airfoil rows. Cylinder wakes have been studied extensively over several decades to better comprehend the basic flow phenomena that are encountered in wake flows with shed vortices. A comprehensive investigation of the very near wake of the cylinder is perhaps the most challenging task because it includes the detached shear layers and the recirculation region. Much of our past understanding of the flow features in the near wake has come from carefully conducted experiments. With the advent of modern day supercomputers it has become possible to compute transitional/turbulent wake flows via direct numerical simulations (DNS) where all the relevant scales are computed and there is no reliance on modeling.

The near wakes of cylinders, and flat plates with turbulent separating boundary layers accompanied by vigorous vortex shedding, have been investigated extensively over several years at NASA ARC via DNS. The emphasis has been on identifying and understanding important flow mechanisms and obtaining distributions of phase- and time-averaged velocity statistics. In the process we have uncovered previously unknown flow phenomena and shed new light on those already known to investigators. The presentation will focus on the detached shear-layer instability, the entrainment process in the presence of turbulent separating boundary layers, shed-vortex structure and rib-vortex induced regions of isolated reverse flow that convect downstream from the base region and are observed as far as four plate thicknesses away. The talk will begin with the author’s personal experience in designing a turbine blade section for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) and the motivation it provided for detailed investigations of wake flows via DNS.

Dr. Man Mohan Rai is the Senior Scientist for Computational Sciences in the Exploration Technology Directorate at NASA Ames Research Center. His primary responsibility entails investigating high-risk/high-payoff areas in Aerospace Sciences. At present his research is focused on direct numerical simulations of turbomachinery flows and the wakes of plates and cylinders using high-order accurate finite-difference methodology. The emphasis is on identifying & understanding basic flow mechanisms. He has made contributions to CFD in high-order accurate algorithms and implicit zonal boundary conditions for computational grids in relative motion. His contributions to algorithms have resulted in first-of-a-kind direct simulations of transition to turbulence and the rotor series of codes for computing rotor/stator interaction in turbomachinery. His past experience includes serving as the Chief of the Turbulence Modeling and Physics Branch at Ames and as Senior Scientist in the Fluid Dynamics and Fluid Mechanics Divisions at Ames and Langley Research Centers. Dr. Rai is a recipient of NASA’s medal for exceptional scientific achievement and the H. Julian Allen award for Ames’s outstanding scientific paper (1991).

Wednesday, September 30, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Quasi-Steady Combustion of Normal Alkane Droplets Supported by Cool-Flame Chemistry

Forman Williams

Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Combustion of liquid fuel droplets in gaseous oxidizing atmospheres has been studied thoroughly for more than 60 years because of interest in applications related to liquid-fuel propulsion. Idealized models of droplet combustion impose spherical symmetry to simplify the equations and contribute to understanding. In both theory and experiment, because of the small ratio of gas to liquid density the gas-phase equations are quasi-steady, with fuel and oxygen forming equilibrium products and releasing heat at a hot spherical flame. Microgravity experiments enable spherically symmetrical droplet combustion to be investigated for larger droplets that experience longer burning times. Nearly 5 years ago, experiments employing normal alkane droplets initially 3 or 4 mm in diameter, burning in air, performed in the International Space Station, revealed a different mode of combustion in which quasi-steady burning was supported not by hot-flame chemistry but rather by cool-flame chemistry, involving only partial burning of the fuel and oxygen and not producing equilibrium products. Cool flames, first named that in 1934 and thought to be responsible for the will o’ the wisp, are fleeting blue flames caused by the same chemistry that produces two-stage ignition processes, which are being studied for potential applications in RCCI engines. The seminar will contrast hot-flame and cool-flame chemistry and describe current experimental and theoretical efforts to improve understanding of quasi-steady droplet combustion supported by cool-flame chemistry.

Dr. Forman A. Williams is a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Engineering Physics and Combustion (2015-present) in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at University of California, San Diego. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Foreign Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Physical Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Among his numerous honors, Prof. Williams has been awarded the Silver and the Bernard Lewis Gold Medal of The Combustion Institute, as well as the prestigious AIAA Propellants and Combustion Award. He has authored more than 400 publications, including textbook Combustion Theory. His research focus is on flame theory, asymptotic analysis, combustion in turbulent flows, fire research, reactions in boundary layers, and other areas of combustion and fluid mechanics.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Turbulent Combustion: From a Jet Engine to an Exploding Star

Alexei Poludnenko

Research Scientist
Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics
Naval Research Laboratory
Washington, D.C.

Turbulent reacting flows are pervasive both in our daily lives on Earth and in the Universe. They power the modern society being at the heart of many energy generation and propulsion systems, such as gas turbines, internal combustion and jet engines. On astronomical scales, thermonuclear turbulent flames are the driver of some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe, knows as Type Ia supernovae. These are crucibles, in which most of the elements around us from oxygen to iron are synthesized, and in the last 20 years they have led to one of the most remarkable discoveries in modern science, namely of the existence of dark energy. Despite this ubiquity in Nature, turbulent reacting flows remain poorly understood still posing a number of fundamental questions. In this talk I will give an overview of the numerical and theoretical work at the Naval Research Laboratory over the recent years aimed at studying both chemical and thermonuclear turbulent flames. I will highlight several surprising phenomena that have emerged in the course of this work, in particular, in the context of the intrinsic instabilities of high-speed turbulent reacting flows, as well as some of the outstanding open challenges. Finally, I will briefly discuss the implications of this work for the development of the next generation of accurate, predictive turbulent flame models required for the design of practical combustion applications.

Alexei Poludnenko received his Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Rochester in 2004. Upon graduation, he joined the Department of Energy ASC Flash Center at the University of Chicago as a postdoctoral researcher, where he worked on theoretical studies of astrophysical supernovae explosions and numerical modeling of thermonuclear deflagrations and detonations. Since joining the Naval Research Laboratory in 2007, first as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow and later as a permanent research staff member, Dr. Poludnenko has been working on a wide range of topics in combustion, numerical algorithm development for hydro- and magnetohydrodynamics, and high-performance computing. In recent years, he has been leading the research program at NRL focused on theoretical and computational studies of turbulent combustion in chemical and astrophysical systems.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Astrodynamics for Modern Space Operations: Recent Analytical, Computational and Experimental Research

John Junkins

Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Texas A&M
College Station, TX

We address recent advances in analytical, computational and experimental studies aimed at challenges posed by the growth of space debris in near earth orbit. Since two large satellite collisions in 2007 and 2009, space debris has emerged as a challenge to the future utilization of low earth orbit. Approximately 20,000 objects larger than 10mm are presently orbiting the earth, orbiting objects smaller than 10mm cannot be tracked by conventional means and it is estimated that over 500,000 debris objects larger than 1mm exist and pose impact risks for future systems. The Kessler Syndrome describes the potentially unstable increase in the population of space debris due to the increase in future probability of collisions. The future collision probability is increased by the large debris population wake of each collision. Some studies indicate that removing largest space derelict objects such as spent boosters and dead satellites is the most effective means for arresting growth of space debris, along with end-of-life de-orbit plans for all future launches. One study indicates taking down 8 to 10 large derelicts per year mitigates debris growth. While present day collision risks are tolerable for most purposes, one or two additional large object collisions could increase the probability of collision to a point that future utilization of some orbit regimes could be severely degraded. This paper overviews two sets of research relevant to these challenges:

1. Methods for de-orbiting large derelict objects not designed for rendezvous and docking. This is a difficult challenge that requires development of relevant autonomous robotic space systems while simultaneously lowering the cost and advancing the reliability of such systems to enable serious pursuit of this approach. The challenge is especially acute due to the widely appreciated fact that high fidelity ground experimentation on space proximity operations is expensive and does not adequately emulate the on-orbit operations. These truths frequently mean that large risks must be accepted for such missions. This leads us to the paradox that it is difficult to de-orbit space junk without the risk of creating more space junk. Only mitigation methods with negligible risk of creating more debris should be considered. We present a promising approach wherein the derelict booster or spacecraft’s engine nozzle is used as a docking port for an inflatable, controllably stiff docking mechanism, and summarize conceptual optical sensing and control studies and novel laboratory experimental studies.
2. New methods in astrodynamics for rapid/precise orbit propagation and mission analysis relevant to the challenges posed by orbit debris. There are dramatically escalating computational challenges associated with orbit propagation, tracking/identification/orbit estimation, probability of collision and uncertainty quantification. Many CPU days per week of high performance computers are presently spent on this set of challenges, and conventional methods, even with Moore’s law and rapidly emerging parallel computation, are judged inadequate to address these challenges. We present a family of “path iteration” methods recently developed and shown to yield over one order of magnitude acceleration over classical methods for solving the differential equations of celestial mechanics. The methods are benchmarked versus the state of the practice with high fidelity force models and are enablers for virtually all space mission studies that require efficient high fidelity orbit computations.

For both sets of research, we overview key issues, basic developments, and current status of closure between theory, computation and experiments. We discuss critical obstacles for these developments to be realized as operational technology for debris mitigation missions. Finally, we observe related applications where the methodology presented is potentially transferrable.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Stochastic Analysis of Solute Transport in Spatially Heterogeneous Porous Media

Felipe de Barros

Assistant Professor
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

Reliable quantification of the associated risks from toxic chemicals present in groundwater is a challenging task. To begin, subsurface formations are ubiquitously heterogeneous. The spatial variability of the hydraulic properties characterizing the porous formation leads to erratically shaped solute clouds, thus increasing the edge area of the solute body and augmenting the dilution rate. The contrast between permeability values and its spatial correlation structure will control the spreading rates of the solute cloud as well as the travel time estimates, both which are critical in assessing the risk level. Secondly, due to limited financial resources and high costs associated with data acquisition, modelers need to cope with the issue of incomplete characterization. As a consequence, solute transport predictions in subsurface environments are subject to uncertainty and probabilistic methods are needed. To address these issues, we present a stochastic framework to statistically characterize transport in heterogeneous aquifers. Our model accounts for the spatial statistical structure of the hydraulic conductivity field, space dimensionality, the injection source size, the Péclet number, and the sampling volume at the monitoring location. By making use of a hydrogeological stochastic framework, we highlight the significance of characteristic length scales (e.g. characterizing flow, transport and sampling devices) and level of heterogeneity in controlling the uncertainty of the solute concentration and the large scale dispersive behavior.

Felipe de Barros is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). He joined USC in January 2013. Dr. de Barros’ main expertise is in stochastic groundwater hydrology and environmental fluid mechanics. His research interests include flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media, stochastic hydrogeology and human health risk. One of his main research lines consists of combining geological site characterization with human health risk models. Dr. de Barros has earned his PhD in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds a BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). After the completion of the PhD at UC Berkeley, Dr. Felipe de Barros worked as a post-doctorate research fellow at the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and the Technical University of Catalonia-BarcelonaTech (Spain). Dr. de Barros has published over 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is an active member of the American Geophysical Union and the European Geosciences Union. He has served as a reviewer for the top journals in field of water resources and is currently an Associated Editor for the Journal of Hydrology.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Design and Fabrication for Biologically Inspired Robotics

Michael T. Tolley

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Robotics has the potential to address many of today’s pressing problems in fields ranging from healthcare to manufacturing to disaster relief. However, the traditional approaches used on the factory floor do not perform well in unstructured environments. I believe the key to solving many of these challenges will be to explore new, non-traditional designs. Fortunately, nature surrounds us with examples of novel ways to navigate and survive in the real world. Through evolution, biology has already explored myriad solutions to many of the challenges facing robotics. At the UC San Diego Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab, we seek to borrow the key principles of operation from biological systems, and apply them to engineered solutions. In this talk I will discuss approaches to the design and fabrication of soft robotic systems, as well as systems which achieve self-assembly by folding.

Michael T. Tolley is assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and director of the Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab at the Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego (bioinspired.eng.ucsd.edu). Before joining the mechanical engineering faculty at UCSD in the fall of 2014, he was a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University. He received the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science from Cornell University in 2009 and 2011, respectively. He received the B. Eng. degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University in Montreal in 2005. His research interests include biologically inspired robotics and design, origami-inspired fabrication, self-assembly, and soft robotics.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Combustion for Clean Energy: From Low Emissions to Low CO2

Ahmed F. Ghoniem

Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

The World’s energy consumption is growing rapidly. Hydrocarbons will remain the major primary energy source for many decades, prompting concerns over CO2 and its climate impact. Near-term strategies, including higher conversion and utilization efficiency, CO2 capture and expanding renewables should be pursued vigorously. Combustion research must contribute aggressively towards these goals, including work on gas-phase oxy-combustion, membrane-supported thermochemistry and chemical looping combustion. The latter options reduce the energy penalty in oxygen production, but need special catalytic surfaces, device design and system integration. I will review some of our recent work addressing these challenges. Premixed oxy-fuel combustion offers significant advantages, including retrofit, but experiences similar dynamics and instabilities to air combustion. I will cover our recent experimental and numerical work on the subject, some of the fundamental similarities and difference between the two processes and how progress in turbulent combustion and kinetics will enable better implementation of this promising technology.

Ahmed F. Ghoniem is the Ronald C Crane Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, and the director of the Center for Energy and Propulsion Research and the Reacting Gas Dynamics Laboratory. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Cairo University, and Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include computational engineering; combustion and thermochemistry; CO2 capture and reuse (oxy-combustion, membrane separation and chemical looping) and fuel production from renewable sources. He has supervised more than 100 post-doctors and graduate students; published more than 330 refereed articles in leading journals and international conferences; and lectured extensively around the World. He is Fellow of ASME and associate fellow of AIAA.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.

Spatiotemporal Models of Cancer Progression

Jeremy Mason

Postdoctoral Scholar
Department of Biological Sciences
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

Cancer cell migration patterns are critical for understanding metastases and clinical progression within the human body. These patterns of metastatic spread often seem random and unpredictable within an individual. In an effort to understand this spread, we apply mathematical concepts to evaluate how these patterns change over time. We simulate cancer progression by constructing a Markov chain network in which random walkers traverse a directed graph as time proceeds. This gives both an average, model based time until a certain metastatic distribution is reached (which can later be tailored to patient specific cases) and also simulated scenarios of how the disease spreads. Deeper analysis allows for quantification of the complexity and predictability by means of entropy measures and classification of metastatic sites based on their Markov probability of spreading.

Jeremy Mason received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California. He continued his research endeavors as a postdoctoral scholar at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, and eventually followed the lab back to USC under the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. Dr. Mason’s research is very cross-disciplinary, combining applied math concepts to medicine and healthcare.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015
3:30 PM
Seaver Science Library, Room 150 (SSL 150)

Refreshments will be served at 3:15 pm.