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Ching-Yao Lai

Assistant Professor of Geophysics

BioMy group attacks fundamental questions in fluid dynamics and geophysics by integrating mathematical and machine-learned models with observational data. We use our findings to address challenges facing the world, such as advancing our scientific knowledge of ice dynamics under climate change. The length scale of the systems we are interested in varies broadly from a few microns to thousands of kilometers, because the governing physical principles are often universal across a range of length and time scales. We use mathematical models, simulations, and machine learning to study the complex interactions between fluids and elasticity and their interfacial dynamics, such as multiphase flows, flows in deformable structures, and cracks. We extend our findings to tackle emerging topics in climate science and geophysics, such as understand the missing physics that governs the flow of ice sheets in a warming climate. We welcome collaborations across disciplinary lines, from geophysics, engineering, physics, applied math to computer science, since we believe combining expertise and methodologies across fields is crucial for new discoveries.