I am a Vassar graduate with a BA in Applied Mathematics. I am currently pursuing a BE and MEng in Mechanical Engineering at Dartmouth. I’m interested in pursuing a PhD in fluid mechanics with applications to civil and environmental engineering.
My current research at Dartmouth’s Ice Fluid Dynamics Lab models permafrost thaw. Permafrost is defined as ground that stays below 0°C for at least 2 years at a time. By modeling the thaw as a mushy layer continuum, I derive coupled PDEs from first principles. After making simplifying assumptions such as approximating the diffusivities as constant, I nondimensionalize the equation to recover dimensionless parameters such as Stefan and Péclet numbers. By solving this non-dimensionalized model (I am currently using a finite volume scheme), I am exploring the behavior in the limit of these dimensionless parameters. The goal is to identify the regimes that lead to a frozen profile. Permafrost supports many Arctic communities while trapping methane gas and enormous amounts of carbon, so we want these structures to stay frozen!
My other ongoing research with Professor Andy Borum at Vassar is to model collective motion (coordinated behavior of agents) using optimal control techniques to identify optimal trajectories. Thus far, we have found a sufficient condition: a shared turning rate that is positive for all time is sufficient for optimality. From this, we simplified the dynamics to a simple pendulum equation that offers a more visual condition for optimality. If the initial energy is above the saddle energy, the shared turn rate stays nonnegative, which guarantees that the trajectories are optimal. I’m currently characterizing the time until the turn rate first reaches zero for trajectories starting below the saddle energy.
Outside of the classroom and academics, I enjoy being active by playing racquet sports, swimming, and hiking. I also take lots of photos, especially of cool landscapes or food!
Check out my CV here.