Melike Kurt

Dr. Melike Kurt is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the University of Southampton, specializing in fluid-structure interactions, bioinspired propulsion and energy harvesting, and underwater robotics. She is affiliated with the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute and actively supervises PhD students in Engineering & Environment. Her teaching responsibilities include modules such as Hydrodynamics (SESS2022) and Offshore Engineering & Analysis (SESS6070).

Her research focuses on understanding and mimicking natural fluid dynamics phenomena, particularly in aquatic environments. She explores how hydrodynamic interactions influence schooling behaviors and propulsion efficiency in bioinspired systems. Her work integrates experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches to advance underwater robotics and energy harvesting technologies.

Dr. Kurt has published extensively on topics like pitching foil performance, ground effect scaling laws, and collective interactions in bioinspired systems. She is currently accepting PhD applications and collaborates widely in interdisciplinary marine and mechanical engineering projects.