Shabnam Raayai

Shabnam Raayai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. Her research focuses on fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, and flow control, particularly exploring bio-inspired designs such as riblet surfaces and V-formation dynamics. She holds a PhD and MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

• Education: PhD (MIT, 201?), MS (MIT, 201?)

Her research integrates experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches to study drag reduction techniques and fluid dynamics in nature-inspired systems. Key interests include fluid-solid interactions, laser diagnostic methods, and complex geometric boundary analyses.

Her recent work examines riblet-covered surfaces for drag reduction, bio-inspired formations, and multi-propeller flow dynamics. She has pioneered techniques like double-light-sheet PIV for studying opaque object flows and volume-controlled cavity expansion for soft material analysis.

• Awards:
  • Rowland Fellowship (2019-2025)
  • Andreas Acrivos Dissertation Award (2018)
  • Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering (2018)

Her grants and advising activities are not detailed here, but her research team actively explores nature-inspired fluid dynamics applications in engineering systems.