The Team

Modern research is almost universally a team endeavour. In the Australian context, the great bulk of research is now carried out by PhD candidates, and this is certainly true in our laboratory. This page provides an overview of what my former and current PhD researchers are studying.

 

 

Postdoctoral Research Fellows:

Postdoctoral fellows not only bring a great deal of expertise and skill to the team, they also bring the perspective of someone trained in another laboratory. In our research group, most postdoctoral researchers are funded through Australian Research Council Discovery Projects.

 

Dr. Petrônio Nogueira

Dr. Petrônio Nogueira joins us from the laboratory of André Cavalieri at Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in Brazil. Petrônio studied both free and wall-bounded shear flows during his PhD, with a particular focus on streak-like structures. He is working on the ARC Discovery Project: "The art of controlling multijet resonance in jet noise and power generation", where is developing analytical tools to study jet resonance.

 

 

Doctor of Philosophy Graduates:

One of the great pleasures of PhD supervision is that the supervisory relationship begins with a student, and ends with a colleague. An equal pleasure is to see those colleagues go on to succeed.

 

Dr. Nicholas Mason-Smith

For his PhD program, Dr. Nick Mason-Smith conducted research into the fluid mechanics of asthma puffers. Using optical diagnostics, synchrotron measurements and numerical models, he increased our understanding of the factors that determine drug particle size and distribution in the spray from a medical inhaler.

Nick's thesis is entitled: "Application of synchrotron-based x-ray diagnostics for the investigation of pressurised metered-dose inhaler sprays."

Nick is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at RMIT.

 

Dr. Dominic Tan

For his PhD, Dr. Dominic Tan studied mechanisms of broadband-shock-associated noise. He undertook part of his PhD at Queen Mary College, University of London, with Prof. Sergey Karabasov. As part of his research he developed new techniques to measure fluid density, and integrated experimental data into theoretical models for shock noise.

Dominic's thesis is entitled: "Aeroacoustic Analysis of Broadband Shock-Associated Noise Sources In Screeching Round Jets."

Dominic is currently working as part of the aerospace startup NextAero, which he co-founded with Joel Weightman, Thomas Knast and Graham Bell.

 

Dr. Joel Weightman

Joel

For his PhD, Joel is studied the physics of supersonic jet impingement. Combining ultra-high-speed schlieren measurements with high-resolution PIV measurements, Joel identified a new mechanism of impingement tone production, in the form of a transient shocklet in the wall jet. For this contribution and several others, Joel was awarded the Bill Melbourne Medal for the top thesis in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Joel's thesis is entitled: "The Sound Production Mechanisms of Impinging Supersonic Jets"

Joel is currently working as part of the aerospace startup NextAero, which he co-founded with Dominic Tan, Thomas Knast and Graham Bell.

Dr. Graham Bell

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For his PhD, Graham studied noise mechanisms in high speed jets, with a focus on the interaction between multiple jet plumes. Using Particle Image Velocimetry, arrays of microphones, and a suite of sophisticated analytical techniques, Graham demonstrated that in some regions of operation the coupling between multiple jet plumes can become intermittent.  Graham undertook part of his graduate study with Prof. Mo Samimy at the Ohio State University.

Graham's thesis is entitled: "Coupling of Underexpanded Twin Jets"

Graham is currently working as part of the aerospace startup NextAero, which he co-founded with Joel Weightman, Thomas Knast and Graham Bell.

 

 

Doctor of Philosophy Candidates:

I have the great privilege to work with a group of talented, motivated PhD candidates. In addition to the below-listed researchers,  I also supervise approximately 6-8 final year undergraduate students on projects each year. If they want their photo on the webpage though, they will have to stick around for a PhD!

Tom Knast

For his PhD, Tom is designing, building and testing a supersonic blowdown tunnel. He will then use this tunnel to study the physics of sonic jets in supersonic crossflow - the mechanism that underlies fuel injection in scramjet engines. Tom has undertaken part of his graduate study with Prof. Rajan Kumar at Florida State University.

Marcus Wong

marcus

For his PhD, Marcus is studying the production of broadband shock-associated noise. His project includes the design and commission of a new anechoic co-flow jet facility, as well as the acquisition and analysis of experimental data in that facility. Marcus is co-supervised by Prof. Peter Jordan at Institut P' in Poitiers; Marcus has spent large fractions of his PhD working with Peter in Poitiers.

 

Rhiannon Kirby

For her PhD, Rhiannon is studying the interaction between high-speed jets and adjacent surfaces, a model problem for a jet engine mounted underneath a wing. Rhiannon is studying fundamental mechanisms for noise generation in this configuration, as well as looking at the influence of nozzle geometry. Rhiannon is co-supervised by Prof. Peter Jordan at Institut P' in Poitiers; Rhiannon has spent fractions of her PhD working with Peter in Poitiers.

Bhavraj Thethy

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

For his PhD, Bhav is studying the dynamics of transient shock-driven jets. The application of this work is in the development of pulsed-detonation-combustion engines, designed to offer less emissions and higher fuel efficiency than classical gas turbines. Bhav is co-supervised by Dr. Kilian Oberleithner at the Technical University of Berlin, where he will spend part of his PhD.

Amir Ekladious

For his PhD, Amir is using experimental and numerical tools to study the coupling between adjacent supersonic jets.  Amir is co-supervised by Prof. Peter Jordan of the CNRS and will spend part of his PhD in Poitiers, France. Along with his colleagues on the twin-jet project, Amir is hoping to further the work begun by Dr. Graham Bell, and determine the ways in which these jets couple together.

 

Michael Stavropoulos

For his PhD, Michael is using theoretical tools to study the coupling mechanisms of twin-jet systems. Michael is co-supervised by Prof. Peter Jordan of the CNRS and will undertake a portion of his candidature in Poitiers, France. Michael is hoping to use stability models to investigate the way in which multijet systems resonate.