Devina Sanjaya

Devina Sanjaya serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She leads the Scientific Computing and Fluid Dynamics Lab (SCFDL) and has been with the institution since July 2019, initially as a Research Assistant Professor before transitioning to a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in August 2019.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan (2019), an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University (2014), and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with minor in Mathematics from the University of Michigan (2011).

Dr. Sanjaya's research focuses on developing advanced computational methods for fluid dynamics simulations. Her work centers on high-order computational fluid dynamics methods, mesh adaptation and optimization, error estimation, verification and validation techniques, and applying scientific machine learning to enhance computational fluid dynamics. She has made significant contributions to the field of scalable, high-order CFD methods, particularly in the area of curved mesh generation and optimization.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on solution verification, uncertainty quantification, and the development of open-source tools for CFD verification. Her research spans both fundamental computational methods and practical applications in aerospace engineering and nuclear reactor design, showing an increasing integration of machine learning techniques with traditional numerical methods.

• MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellowship (2023-2025)
• UTK Office of the Provost Research Development Academy Scholar (2022)
• François-Xavier Bagnoud Fellowship (2016-2019)
• Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship (2016-2017)
• Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering Fellowship (2015-2016)

Dr. Sanjaya actively mentors several graduate students including Ph.D. candidates Aidan Lay, Justin Weinmeister, Trenton Henderson, and Nicole Nutter, along with M.S. student Luc Lipcius. She has secured funding from multiple sources including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Computational Math Program, National Science Foundation (NSF REU), and Office of Naval Research. Her professional service includes leadership roles in the AIAA Meshing, Visualization, and Computational Environments (MVCE) Technical Committee, where she currently serves as Meshing Sub-Committee Chair and will chair the MVCE Student Paper Competition for the 2026 AIAA SciTech Forum.

She directs the Scientific Computing and Fluid Dynamics Lab (SCFDL), which hosts undergraduate researchers, REU students, and collaborates with national laboratories including Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The lab focuses on developing computational methods for fluid dynamics with applications ranging from aerospace engineering to nuclear reactor design, and has established partnerships with organizations like Flexcompute for sponsorship and research collaboration.