Professor Jesse Capecelatro’s Computational Multiphase/Multi-Physics Flow Lab is seeking Three Graduate Students

 

Professor Jesse Capecelatro is a faculty member within the College of Engineering’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering departments. Prof. Capecelatro’s lab group is seeking current or recently graduated Master’s or Ph.D. students for paid Research Assistant positions starting in the Fall 2020 term. Read more about Prof. Capecelatro’s research group here.

Research Assistants will be working on one of three projects.

PROJECT #1: MODELING TURBULENT FLOWS WITH FINITE SIZE PARTICLES ON HETEROGENEOUS ARCHITECTURES

Description: The objective of this project is to develop a highly scalable direct numerical simulation (DNS) code that leverages new algorithmic advances in (a) turbulence simulation using a pseudo-spectral approach on heterogeneous architectures and (b) efficient scaling of particle dynamics with number of particles, to perform massive-scale simulations with a mixture of CPUs and GPUs. The student will work with Prof. Capecelatro at UM and collaborators at Iowa State and Georgia Tech. The majority of the code will be written in Fortran 90 and C.

This position is expected to last 1 year in duration with the possibility of extension, and work will be performed remotely. Compensation for this position will be based on experience and qualifications.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Major in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or similar
  • Strong background in fluid mechanics
  • Good knowledge in turbulence
  • Excellent programming skills in a high-performance language like C, Fortran, Python
  • Familiar with parallel computing

PROJECT #2: MULTI-STEP EFFECTIVENESS FACTORS FOR NON-SPHERICAL CATALYSTS

Description: Prof. Capecelatro and his postdoc Aaron Lattanzi will provide support to the graduate student on development of new models for diffusion limited reaction schemes that will be delivered to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The multi-step effectiveness vector (MEV) previously derived by CO-PI Lattanzi will be expanded to account for cylindrical and infinite slab catalyst geometries. Reactant concentration profiles and volume-averaged reaction rates predicted by the new MEV will be directly compared to high-fidelity simulations conducted by NREL to verify the model.

This position is expected to last 9 months in duration with the possibility of extension, and work will be performed remotely. Compensation for this position will be based on experience and qualifications.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Major in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
  • Excellent programming skills in a high-performance language like C, Fortran, Python
  • Strong background in fluid mechanics
  • Familiarity with chemical kinetics (CHE 344. Reaction Engineering and Design or similar class)

PROJECT #3: SENSITIVITY AND UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION OF MODELING PARAMETERS FOR SIMULATING HIGH-SPEED MULTIPHASE FLOWS

Description: The student will perform a literature review on the state-of-the-art in modeling compressible particle-laden flows. Simulations will be performed of shock waves interacting with solid particles using our in-house high-speed multiphase flow solver (Fortran 90). A sensitivity analysis will be performed to quantify the effect of particle statistics on modeling parameters.

This position is expected to last 9 months in duration with the possibility of extension, and work will be performed remotely. Compensation for this position will be based on experience and qualifications.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Major in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
  • Excellent programming skills in a high-performance language like C, Fortran, Python
  • Familiar with uncertainty quantification, tools for sensitivity analyses
  • Strong background in fluid mechanics
  • United States citizenship

APPLY  TODAY!
Please send your CV, transcript, and a brief statement about your interests and background relative to the projects listed above to Professor Jesse Capecelatro [email protected] with subject, “Fall 2020 Research Assistantship”.