Jennifer Franck

Professor Jennifer Franck is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with additional affiliations in the Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics program. Her research focuses on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), unsteady fluid mechanics, and engineering applications in renewable energy systems such as wind, tidal energy, and propulsion. She holds a PhD from the California Institute of Technology (2009) and undergraduate degrees from the University of Virginia (BS, 2003) and Caltech (MS, 2004).

• Recipient of prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER Award (2023) and multiple ONR Summer Faculty Research Fellowships.
• Explores bio-inspired designs (e.g., seal whisker geometry) to enhance fluid-structure interaction and reduce vortex-induced vibrations.
• Advances cross-flow turbine and oscillating foil technologies for energy harvesting through CFD simulations and experimental validation.

Research interests emphasize:

• Unsteady flow dynamics and turbulence modeling
• Optimization of renewable energy systems (tidal/wind turbines)
• Bio-inspired flow control strategies

Recent publications highlight CFD-driven innovations in turbine blade design, vortex wake classification via machine learning, and high-efficiency propulsion systems. Grants include multi-disciplinary collaborations on bio-inspired geometries and fluid-structure interaction analysis.

Labs/Teams: Active in fluid dynamics experimental facilities and computational modeling groups within the UW-Madison College of Engineering.