(4bj) Dynamics of Complex Fluids and Data-Driven Manifold Dynamics

Biological and industrial fluids are often complex due to the presence of macromolecules /cells /particles -- for example, polymer solutions and active fluids -- and they exhibit mechanical responses strikingly different than viscous fluids. The flow of such fluids leads to anomalous flow dynamics, which regulate a wide range of industrial, geophysical and biological processes such as turbulent drag reduction, battery, soil and groundwater remediation, subcutaneous injection, and targeted drug delivery. Fluid-structure interactions between complex fluids and elastic filaments are intrinsic for flagellated microorganisms' locomotion, mucociliary transport, and polymer processing of composites. I plan to establish a theoretical and computational lab to study the flow of complex fluids relevant to energy, biomedical, and environmental applications.

After completing my Ph.D. in 2022 under the guidance of Prof. Arezoo M. Ardekani (Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University), I joined Prof. Michael D. Graham's lab as a postdoctoral researcher (Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison). My research interests are complex fluids, fluid-structure interactions, and data-driven methods. Complex fluids interact with diverse physics in practical applications and also lead to chaotic dynamics. My lab will study the flow of complex fluids and their interactions with deformable structures and electric fields. Chaotic dynamics are computationally expensive to study due to very high dimensionality and are often required to control for practical applications. Their dynamics often lie on an invariant manifold having a much lower dimension, which enables the machine learning approach to develop a reduced-ordered model of chaotic systems. We will use machine learning tools to investigate and manipulate chaotic dynamics in different systems. The lack of quantitatively representative models of complex fluids makes accurate model prediction challenging. An important goal of my current and future research is also to develop a quantitatively predictive model of complex fluids using theory and data-driven methods. My doctoral research focused on viscoelastic flows through porous media and flagellated cells in complex flows. My current research as a postdoctoral researcher focuses on elastoinertial turbulence and data-driven methods. Hence, my research background and achievements equip me with a unique expertise to achieve my scientific vision.

Teaching Interests

Teaching and mentoring are integral parts of overall research and learning processes. I like to offer core courses in chemical engineering and mechanical engineering such as Fluid Mechanics, Transport, and Numerical Methods. Further, I also plan to design graduate-level courses on complex fluids and data-driven methods, which will prepare next-generation researchers in soft matter and complex fluids. I also plan to incorporate machine learning tools into my course, as these tools are becoming progressively more essential in various research fields. I like to design a learning-based course material and evaluation metric. I will use small experiments and demos in the classroom to explain the course materials, which play important roles in attracting students' attention and creating curiosity. I like to send the class materials to students a few days before every lecture, which would allow students to get familiar with the materials and hence enable them to better engage in the class. I would design assignments that connect classroom discussions with real-life applications and help students to develop critical thinking abilities. Professional development is also important for students to succeed in their careers. To improve students' presentation skills, I will include project presentations in my course and provide personalized feedback to every student. I will encourage and facilitate a collaborative culture among my students because the solution to real-life problems often requires diverse expertise. To promote collaboration and discussion in class, I like to divide the class into small groups and assign group tasks related to the real-life relevance of classroom teaching. The small group serves as a platform to enhance discussion and exchange of ideas, especially for the introvert students.