Akhil Nekkanti

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department at the California Institute of Technology working with Prof. Tim Colonius.  My research interests include turbulent flows, multiphase flows, computational fluid dynamics, and modal decomposition techniques. Currently, I am working on hybrid modeling of cavitating flows and formulating closures for transferring mass from sub-grid to resolved bubbles. I am also interested in reduced-order modeling for the estimation and control of turbulent flows.

Previously,  I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego (UCSD), working with Prof. Oliver Schmidt. During my Ph.D., I focussed on investigating the underlying physical phenomena of turbulent flows. In particular, I performed high-fidelity numerical simulations of turbulent jets and developed data-driven techniques to extract the coherent structures and characterize their nonlinear dynamics. 

At UCSD, I completed my Master's thesis with Prof. Antonio Sánchez, during which I performed theoretical and numerical studies of jet diffusion flames. Before joining UCSD, I completed my undergraduate degree in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Ropar. There, I worked with Prof. R. K. Maurya on low-temperature combustion strategies in IC engines. 

Outside work, I am an avid follower of cricket and like to listen to Urdu poetry. In my free time, you can find me taking long walks around the campus. Please feel free to reach out to my email or through the websites to the side of this page.