Introduction

👋 Welcome to my website!

Associate Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya–BarcelonaTech (UPC) and member of the research staff at the Heat and Mass Transfer Technological Center (CTTC-UPC), specializing in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multiphase flows, fluid mechanics, and heat and mass transfer.

My research focuses on the development of advanced numerical and computational methods for fluid dynamics and transport phenomena, with particular emphasis on Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of gas–liquid flows, interfacial transport phenomena, variable surface-tension phenomena including thermocapillarity and surfactant effects, phase change including boiling, evaporation, and condensation, and bubbly flows.

I develop high-performance CFD solvers in C++/MPI based on unstructured finite-volume methods, including the Unstructured Conservative Level-Set (UCLS) method, coupled Volume-of-Fluid/Level-Set (VoF-LS) formulations, and Multi-Marker UCLS approaches. My work combines fundamental transport physics, interface-capturing methods, numerical modeling, and high-performance computing for large-scale simulations of multiphase systems relevant to chemical, energy, and mechanical engineering.

📝 Peer review & scientific service: I regularly serve as a reviewer for leading international journals in computational fluid dynamics, multiphase flow, and heat and mass transfer, e.g., International Journal of Multiphase Flow, Journal of Computational Physics, Chemical Engineering Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, and Computers & Fluids, among others. I also contribute to the evaluation of scientific research proposals, e.g., ACS Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF).

🎓 Teaching and mentoring: At UPC, I teach undergraduate and master's courses in Heat and Mass Transfer, Numerical Methods in Heat and Mass Transfer, Gas Dynamics and Heat and Mass Transfer, Advanced Heat and Mass Transfer, Advanced Heat Transfer, and Energy Alternatives (Fuel Cells). Previously, I taught Thermodynamics at UNED (Spain), and Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, and Chemical Reactor Engineering at UTPL (Ecuador). I am also involved in the supervision and mentoring of doctoral researchers working in computational fluid dynamics, multiphase flows, numerical methods, and high-performance computing.

💬 Let’s collaborate
I'm open to collaborations in numerical and computational methods for advanced CFD, multiphase flow, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, high-performance computing (C++ / MPI), and their applications in energy and chemical process engineering, hydraulic engineering, or mechanical engineering.
Whether you're interested in joint research, Ph.D. supervision, or industry-academia partnerships, I’d be happy to connect.

📩 Email: nestor.balcazar@upc.edu

🔬 Selected Academic Metrics:

📝 55 Scopus - indexed publications, 59% as first author. Bibliometric indicators updated August 2026.

📈 h-index: 17 | FWCI: 1.62 (Scopus)

🎓 4 Ph.D. theses supervised (2 industrial doctorates) at the UPC.

🌍 35+ international conference presentations, e.g., DLES, ETMM, EUROTHERM, ERCOFTAC, ECCOMAS, PRACE, ICCS.