Bert Blocken

Bert Blocken serves as Full Professor at KU Leuven's Department of Civil Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering Science, leading the Building Physics and Sustainable Design research unit at Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, Leuven. His work bridges fundamental fluid dynamics with practical applications in urban environments and sports engineering.

His research spans Building Physics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Wind Engineering, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Urban Physics, and Sports Aerodynamics—with particular emphasis on cycling aerodynamics. This includes investigations into drafting effects behind vehicles, hill descent positions, team time trials, and peloton dynamics using combined CFD simulations and wind tunnel experiments.

Publication analysis reveals a concentrated focus on sports aerodynamics (2013-2024), where 12+ studies systematically deconstruct cycling drag phenomena through innovative experimental setups and computational modeling, predominantly published in the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics and Sports Engineering.

Current research funding includes four major projects: an innovative Fan Array Wind Tunnel system for the Coastal & Ocean Basin (2025-2028, Co-promotor), tomographic PIV development (2022-2026, Co-promotor), air curtain efficiency optimization (2019-2025, Promotor), and jet mixing ventilation studies (2015-2022, Promotor).

He operates within KU Leuven's Building Physics and Sustainable Design unit, utilizing advanced facilities including wind tunnels and CFD clusters for urban physics and sports aerodynamics research, with documented collaborations on experimental setups involving cyclist-vehicle interactions and ventilation systems.