Ricardo Garcia-Mayoral

The research of Prof. Garcia-Mayoral focuses on wall turbulence, and in particular on the use of non-conventional surfaces to modify and control turbulent flows. A key application of flow control through surface manipulations is the reduction of drag in vehicles –moving through air and water– and pipelines. The use of such surfaces can have a significant impact on fuel efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and the environmental footprint of transport activities. Prof. Garcia-Mayoral approaches this research from a fundamental perspective. The focus is on understanding the physical mechanisms in the flow, and how non-conventional features in the wall modify those mechanisms. The insight gained by this understanding enables the conception of optimized strategies and surface layouts. An example is the research conducted on ribbed surfaces, which was awarded the Ercoftac Da Vinci Prize in 2012, or the research on superhydrophobic surfaces for naval applications, conducted in collaboration with the Center for Turbulence Research at Stanford University.