Fluid Dynamics and Physics

Fluid dynamics governs the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the blood running through you — even the plasma that makes up the stars. The intricacies of fluid motion are easily seen by watching phenomena such as the flame or smoke of a candle, the clouds moving overhead, or the ocean waves breaking against the shoreline. What makes fluids so fascinating is you can sit and watch these natural phenomena for hours without ever seeing a repeated pattern. The motion is constantly changing, sensitive to perturbations, and therefore difficult to predict. Fluid dynamics provides us the tools to better understand these complicated motions — through analytic, experimental, and computational study. Even without knowing the exact solution, insight to fluid motion has implications for world issues including predicting climate change, curing cancer, generating renewable energy sources, and producing clean water.

Candidates should have completed one year of Calculus and one year of Physics coursework. Students who do not meet these requirements will still be considered, but they are encouraged to list a secondary course preference since their likelihood of admission is significantly lower. No programming experience is necessary.