François Gallaire

François Gallaire is an Associate Professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he leads the Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Instabilities (LFMI) within the School of Engineering and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. He also serves as an Associate Professor in the Teaching Department (SGM) and as a PhD program committee member for the Doctoral Program Mechanics. His office is located in Building MED, room 2 2926, at EPFL's Station 9 campus in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Gallaire earned his engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique in 1998 and a master's in Liquids Physics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in 1999. He completed his PhD in 2002 at LadHyX on swirling flow instabilities and vortex breakdown. After six years at the Mathematics department of Université de Nice, he joined EPFL in 2009, founding the Fluid Mechanics and Instabilities Lab (LFMI). He became an associate professor in 2016 and served as teaching department director from 2018 to 2023.

His research focuses on instability theory, free interface phenomena and microfluidics, with emphasis on fundamental descriptions of fluid behavior. Gallaire's work spans multiple domains including droplet dynamics, sloshing phenomena, fluid-solid interactions, thin film flows, and vortex breakdown. His laboratory investigates both theoretical aspects and practical applications of fluid mechanics, with particular interest in microfluidic systems and industrial applications.

Gallaire's publication record shows a consistent focus on fluid instabilities across various configurations. His recent work demonstrates increasing sophistication in analyzing complex fluid phenomena, particularly in confined geometries and multiphase systems. The research shows strong theoretical foundations combined with experimental validation, with applications ranging from fundamental fluid physics to industrial processes and biomedical engineering.

• Fellow of the American Physical Society (2019)

Gallaire has supervised numerous PhD students, both current and past, reflecting his commitment to academic mentoring. His teaching portfolio includes advanced courses in compressible-fluid dynamics, finite element method, hydrodynamics, and instability. He has established the LFMI as a prominent research group in fluid mechanics, with particular expertise in instability phenomena and microfluidic applications. The laboratory maintains strong collaborations with other research groups internationally and has secured funding for various research projects exploring fundamental fluid dynamics questions.