Joe Myers Hill
- Job title: Doctoral Prize Fellowship
- Email: scjmh@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: School of Mathematics, University of Leeds
- PhD Project Title: Residence time distributions and return time statistics in fluid mixing: understanding and enhancing chaotic mixing
Background
I spent my undergraduate degree studying maths at the University of Sheffield and the University of Barcelona. A general interest in analysis from my first couple years there led me to choose several courses exploring its applications, such as mechanics, fluid dynamics, and MHD.
Research Interests
I look at fluid mixing from a dynamical systems perspective, in particular mixing by chaotic advection (essentially stirring). Rather than relying on turbulence, this approach involves a continual process of stretching and folding, modelled using area-preserving hyperbolic dynamical systems. The mathematical framework for understanding these systems’ long term behaviour is ergodic theory, in which recurrence is a key concept. I’m interested in how a quantitative study of recurrence (i.e. measuring return times) can inform design principles for realistic mixing devices, where factors such as boundary regions must be taken into account.
Why I chose the CDT in Fluid Dynamics
The opportunity to take some more taught causes before settling on a research topic appealed to me, alongside being part of a student cohort. The wide range of example projects and work experience placements in industry made Leeds an easy choice.