Catalogue of Possibilities / Supervisors

Dr Tao Zhang any pronouns

Computational fluid dynamics, computational aero-acoustics, design optimisation, rotorcraft, rotary wings, advanced air mobility

Lecturer in Flight Sciences

James Watt School of Engineering

Research interests:

Computational fluid dynamics, Computational aero-acoustics, Design optimisation, Rotorcraft, Rotary wings, Advanced air mobility

Research fields:

Computational Fluid dynamics(CFD), Computational Aero-acoustics(CAA), Multi-disciplinary analysis and optimisation (MDAO), and Sustainable future flight systems and rotorcraft development and operation including Advanced Air Mobility(AAM), eVTOLs, Drones, Helicopters, Propeller/rotor/rotary-wing analysis, Wind/tidal energy

Mission Priority Areas

Why do you want to join the DiveIn community?

Diverse expertise, perspectives, culture, and experience always stem impactful innovations. I am excited to expose myself and explore the new ideas and challenges from different scientific and cultural backgrounds. I am keen to contribute to this diverse and interdisciplinary research community.

Personal profile:

My research explores the physics of fluid mechanics and noise generation &propagation, with various applications ranging from helicopters and propellers to renewable energy systems, metallurgy, and environmental flows.

I focus on creating novel modelling and AI-driven optimisation methods that are fast, accurate, and adaptable. These tools allow me to uncover new insights into flow physics and apply them to the design and improvement of technologies such as wind/tidal turbine blades, to improve energy efficiency and reduce noise emission.

I am keen to form collaborations with research work that involves fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, noise radiation, and optimisation elements. My research has broad collaborations with, e.g. the NHS (modelling of flow and pollutant transport within operating theatres), metallurgy (modelling of electric-arc furnace), and the aerial transport industry (aerodynamic modelling, design and optimisation; noise modelling and minimisation).

In this CDT, I would love to contribute to projects that explore intriguing flow physics in cutting-edge innovations in e.g. future aerial transport, green energy, bio-flow, and environmental flow. I am also keen to support projects that create new modelling and numerical methods exploiting cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing architectures (such as quantum computing). As a supervisor, I am always open and supportive. We have regular project and group meetings to share ideas, skills, and culture in the CFD Lab. I always encourage students to own their research and challenge me with their own insights and ideas. Many of our graduates work in the aerial transport and green energy industry or academia. A couple of our recent graduates became aerodynamicists in the Alpine F1 team.

I have a strong commitment to EDI. I serve as the 2nd Advisor for Y1 aero students to provide guidance and promote diversity. Our lab is highly diverse and international, with students and researchers from all around the world and all cultural backgrounds.

Outside work, I enjoy exploring different cultures, philosophy, art, reading, programming, and cooking.

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/engineering/staff/taozhang/

https://www.gla.ac.uk/cfd