Alan Correa

Alan Correa is a PhD candidate and Scientific Researcher at the Chair of Methods for Model-based Development in Computational Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. His research advances forward solvers for thin film free surface flows over complex geometry through numerical methods, computational geometry, and automatic differentiation, with strong advocacy for open source software principles.

Education

• Master of Science (with distinction), Computer Aided Conception and Production in Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany (2023)
• Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Sardar Patel College of Engineering, University of Mumbai, India (2017)

Research Interests

Alan's work spans Numerical Methods for Continuum Physical Modelling, Scientific Software Development, Computational Geometry, and Scientific Machine Learning. His PhD project integrates depth-integrated Shallow Water Equations (Surface PDEs) with computational geometry and automatic differentiation to model complex fluid dynamics. He has developed computational material models for visco-elastic hydrogels, automated 3D mesh generation systems, and state estimation software for autonomous vehicles.

Publication Trends

His 2024 publications demonstrate a cohesive focus on computational reproducibility through Julia-based workflows and FAIR research practices. Both papers address critical challenges in sustainable research software engineering, emphasizing reusable datasets, containerized compute environments, and transparent simulation pipelines within computational engineering and earth sciences contexts.

Scientific Awards

• Dean's List, RWTH Aachen University (2022)
• Best of Class Awards, RWTH Aachen International Academy (2021)
• J.N. Tata Scholarship for Higher Education of Indians (2019)
• Best Outgoing Student Award, Sardar Patel College of Engineering (2017)

Advising and Funding

As a PhD candidate, Alan does not supervise students. His research is funded through his Scientific Researcher position at RWTH Aachen and scholarship support including the prestigious J.N. Tata endowment. Professional experience includes structural analysis internships at Airbus and graduate research at RWTH's Material Applications Institute.

Research Environment

Alan operates within RWTH Aachen's Modeling & Simulation Sciences profile area, collaborating across engineering, mathematics, and computer science disciplines. The Chair develops performant simulation methods and sustainable software implementations for model-based decision support systems, with active participation in international conferences like JuliaCon and EGU General Assembly.