Simo Mäkiharju

Simo Mäkiharju is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His undergraduate studies were in Energy Technology at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. He received his Mechanical Engineering M.Sc. from the Ohio State University in 2005 and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2012. His graduate research focused on reducing hydrodynamic drag through gas injection and developing a time-resolved x-ray densitometry imaging system for multiphase flows. He continued at the University of Michigan as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2012-2014) and as an Assistant Research Scientist (2014-2015). Starting as an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley in January 2016, he continues to pursue research on high-Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows through experimental techniques.

Simo A. Mäkiharju is an Associate Professor at UC Berkeley, specializing in fluid mechanics, multiphase flows, cavitation, X-ray methods, and ocean engineering. His research focuses on understanding the dynamics of partial cavities, air lubrication drag reduction, and the behavior of bubbly shocks in cavitating flows. He employs advanced X-ray techniques to study multiphase flows and their interactions with surfaces. His work also explores the scaling of air entrainment, gas diffusion, and the influence of non-condensable gases on cavitation dynamics. Additionally, he investigates aerodynamic disturbances for proximity flight and the dynamics of ventilated partial cavities across a wide range of Reynolds numbers.