Research Keyword turbulent flows

Haris Catrakis
Associate Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Office: EG 4218
The research fields of Prof. Catrakis and his students are turbulence, flow dynamics, and multiscale phenomena in general, with emphasis on fundamental aspects of multiscale dynamics, predictability, and optimization. Because turbulence is a widely occurring phenomenon consisting of highly irregular motion across a wide range of scales, the study of turbulence has broad significance across a wide range of multidisciplinary applications such as air, land, sea, and space systems, environmental phenomena, human health, sustainable energy, communications, atmospheric dynamics, ocean dynamics, weather forecasting, as well as global climate change, with turbulence serving as a paradigm of multiscale behavior for complex phenomena.

The research approach of Prof. Catrakis and his students consists of basic theories including testing by computations and visualizations, with emphasis on mathematical methods, physical modeling, variational principles, direct numerical simulations, large-eddy simulations, smoothed particle computing, multiscale visualizations, predictability, and flow optimization. Prof. Catrakis is the recipient of several awards including the National Science Foundation Career Award, the Fitzpatrick Prize in Physics, the Rutty Prize in Mathematics, the Esso Award in Science, the Buhler Award in Aeronautics, the Mager Prize in Engineering, and the Henry Ford Scholar Award. Prof. Catrakis has also been elected Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.