Welcome to the Fluid Energy Science Laboratory at UCSB!

At FESLab, we pursue a wide range of research in theoretical, experimental, and computational fluid mechanics. We focus on fundamental problems that are motivated by strong practical applications in the field of energy production or conservation. Through our research, we seek advances in fundamental understanding that have the potential to drive paradigm shifts, thereby enabling key technological advances.

While our interests revolve around uncovering and understanding fundamental fluid phenomena, to make this possible, we often must develop new theoretical approaches, numerical techniques, experimental strategies, and even new instrumentation for fluid dynamics research. 

Examples of ongoing projects include: developing a theoretical limit for the performance of large wind farms, understanding and mitigating the adverse effect of a stratified atmosphere on wind farm output, uncovering the causes for the erratic performance of superhydrophobic surfaces for drag reduction, modeling flow through flexible vegetation canopies in complex terrain, and developing an open-source instrument for micro-scale density measurements.

We welcome inquiries from outstanding undergraduate and graduate students, as well as from potential postdoctoral researchers. Undergraduate students should write directly to fegiz [at] engr [dot] ucsb [dot] edu. Prospective graduate students should apply to the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and specify Prof. Luzzatto-Fegiz as a potential advisor. We do not typically have full-time funding for postdoctoral researchers; applicants are expected to secure their own postdoctoral fellowships or scholarships.

Please enjoy the overview of our research activities provided in these pages, and feel free to contact us with any questions. You can also follow us @FluidEnergySci on Twitter.

       - Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz