Amneet Bhalla

Dr. Amneet Bhalla serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering at San Diego State University (SDSU). His primary contact email is asbhalla@sdsu.edu, with office located in Engineering Building Room 323-G, and phone number (619) 594-2043.

Education:

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University (2013)
• M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (2009)
• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (2004-2008)
• Postdoctoral Training: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Mathematics Department) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Computational Research Division)

Research Interests:

Dr. Bhalla develops advanced numerical methods and high-performance computing techniques for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems. His work spans aquatic locomotion, renewable energy device modeling, multiphase flows, vehicular aerodynamics, and bioengineering applications. He creates mathematical models to interrogate underlying flow physics for engineering design optimization, with emphasis on open-source software development through the IBAMR library.

Publication Trends:

Recent publications (2023-2025) focus on robust numerical frameworks for multiphase flows with phase change, acoustic streaming, and fluid-structure interaction. Key themes include mass conservation in level set methods, adaptive mesh refinement, and solvers for non-isothermal gas-liquid-solid systems. Applications range from aquatic locomotion and renewable energy devices to microfluidics and biomedical flows, demonstrating commitment to both theoretical advances and practical engineering solutions.

Scientific Awards:

• No awards mentioned in the provided text

Advising and Grants:

Dr. Bhalla secured an NSF CAREER award (2023) for "Consistent Continuum Formulation and Robust Numerical Modeling of Non-Isothermal Phase Changing Multiphase Flows". As PI of the CFD Lab, he mentors graduate students in computational mechanics, leveraging prior industrial experience at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. His research integrates industrial practicality with academic rigor through collaborations with national laboratories.

Laboratory and Team:

The Computational Fluid Dynamics and Flow Physics Laboratory (CFD Lab) develops the open-source IBAMR software—a distributed-memory parallel implementation of the immersed boundary method with adaptive mesh refinement. The lab emphasizes transparency, community engagement, and reproducibility, establishing cross-institutional collaborations while advancing computational methods for complex flow phenomena in engineering and biological systems.