Matthew Zahr receives NSF CAREER award to improve simulation of shock-dominated turbulent flow

Matthew Zahr

Matthew Zahr, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. The award recognizes early career excellence in STEM research and education.

Zahr’s CAREER research project focuses on developing new theoretical and mathematical approaches to create reliable and accurate simulations of shock-dominated turbulent flow.

Aerospace, astrophysics, biology, and environmental science rely on detailed simulations of fluids in motion. Yet conventional methods used to produce these simulations—particularly of turbulence and other complex flow features—are limited in accuracy, reliability, and speed of computation.

Zahr and his team of students in his Computational Mechanics and Optimization Laboratory will use novel mathematical models and numerical methods to improve simulation of shock-dominated turbulent flow over complex geometries.

The project’s educational component includes research opportunities for undergraduates, professional development opportunities for elementary school teachers, and fluid dynamics demonstrations that will engage more than 500 fifth-grade students.

Zahr received his master’s and doctoral degrees in computational and mathematical engineering at Stanford University. He joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2019.

— Karla Cruise, College of Engineering