Bio: Dr. Scheel has taught at a variety of higher education institutions, including California Lutheran University, Caltech, and Cornell University. She also conducted research at Cal Lutheran, Caltech, Cornell, and Argonne National Laboratory. She is coauthor of Analytical Mechanics, an advanced undergraduate physics textbook. She is currently a Mercator Fellow as a part of the Priority Programme SPP 1881 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Janet Scheel’s research deals with pattern formation and turbulence. The particular system she studies is Rayleigh-Benard convection.

Numerical Simulations of Turbulence in Heated Fluids

Turbulent systems are all around us, from waves crashing on our beaches, to smoke rising from the fires in our mountains, to the air that can disrupt our smooth airline flights. But, turbulent systems are not well understood. Rayleigh-Benard Convection is a more simplified system which captures some of the key features of turbulence, including thermal plumes, thin boundary layers and large-scale flow. In Rayleigh-Benard convection, an enclosed fluid is bounded by horizontal parallel plates kept at a constant temperature difference. Results from numerical simulations of the equations which describe Rayleigh-Benard convection will be discussed and compared to experimental and theoretical results. These include flows in air and liquid metals in confined containers in addition to more horizontally extended systems.

This seminar is jointly sponsored with the department of Complex Systems. Prof. Scheel is being hosted by Prof. Doering (Complex Systems, Mathematics and Physics). If you would like to meet with her during her visit, please send an email to [email protected]. If you are an MICDE students and would like to join Prof. Scheel for lunch, please RSVP  by October 15th.