Multiphase and turbulent flows play a central role in a wide range of earth and atmospheric processes, including cloud formation and precipitation, aerosol and droplet transport, air–sea interaction, ice formation, and energy exchange across environmental interfaces. Accurately representing these phenomena remains a major challenge due to the strong coupling between turbulence, phase change, and multiscale interfacial dynamics. In this seminar, I will present recent advances in high-fidelity computational modeling of multiphase turbulent flows, with emphasis on applications relevant to atmospheric and environmental fluid dynamics. I will introduce a diffuse-interface (phase-field) framework designed to robustly capture interfacial dynamics in two-phase flows. The formulation is entropy-consistent and minimally dissipative, enabling accurate representation of droplets, bubbles, and phase boundaries embedded in turbulent environments. I will highlight simulations of droplet-laden and bubble-laden turbulence that serve as reduced-order analogs for cloud microphysics, aerosol–turbulence interactions, and air–water exchange processes. These examples provide insight into how multiphase structures modify turbulence statistics, mixing, and transport across scales.

In the final part of the talk, I will discuss extensions to coupled multiphysics problems involving surface interaction and phase change, including ice formation and heat transfer at solid–fluid interfaces. These processes share strong commonality with environmental freezing, icing, and cryospheric dynamics. Overall, this talk demonstrates how advances in numerical methods and high-performance computing can enable new understanding of complex multiphase flows that underpin key earth and atmospheric processes.

*Refreshments: 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM (Atrium)