Laura Villafane Roca

Laura Villafane Roca
Laura Villafane Roca
Assistant Professor

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Education

  • Ph.D. Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) Belgium / Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, 2014
  • Research Master in Fluid Dynamics, Aeronautics and Aerospace, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI), Belgium, 2008
  • B.S./M.S. Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), Spain, 2007

Academic Positions

  • Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, January 2019 - present
  • Research Engineer, Center for Turbulence Research (CTR), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, January 2018 - December 2018
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Turbulence Research (CTR), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, September 2014 - December 2017, Advisor: John K. Eaton
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Aeronautics and Aerospace Department, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics 2014, Advisor: Guillermo Paniagua.

Research Interests

  • Particle-laden flows
  • Turbulence
  • Heat transfer
  • High speed flows
  • Plume-surface interactions
  • Complex and separated flows
  • Measurement techniques (instrumentation design and non-intrusive optical diagnostics)
  • Image processing and data reduction
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Selected Articles in Journals

Articles in Conference Proceedings

Other Publications

Journal Editorships

  • Associate Editor of Measurement, EES Journal, February 2018 - present
  • Editor of Results in Engineering (RINENG), Elsevier, March 2020 - present

Professional Societies

  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA, Senior member, 2010-2014, 2019 -present
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME, 2013 - present
  • Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellows, 2013 - present
  • American Physical Society, APS, Division of Fluid Dynamics, 2015 - present

Research Honors

  • Ph.D Thesis Award, Summa cum laude, Polythechnic University of Valencia (02/2014)
  • Amelia Earhart Fellowship, Zonta International Foundation (04/2013)
  • Outstanding Graduate Thesis Award, Polythechnical University of Madrid (06/2007)

Public Service Honors

  • AIAA Outstanding Section Award, as AIAA IL Section Chair (08/2022)

Other Honors

  • NATO fellowship - von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Research Master) (09/2007 - 06/2008)

Recent Courses Taught

  • AE 311 - Incompressible Flow
  • AE 514 - Boundary Layer Theory