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V.Shankar, PhD (IISc Bangalore)

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Associate Professor

Research Interests: Stability of fluid flows, Rheology of complex fluids 
Ph: +91-512- 259- 7377
Email: vshankar[AT]iitk.ac.in
Website: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~vshankar/
Research in our group is centered around the areas of fluid dynamics, rheology, transport and interfacial phenomena with a focus on microfluidic systems, biological flows, and meso-patterning applications. Specifically, we address issues related to hydrodynamic instabilities and their manipulation in these settings, for example, as a way to improve transport rates or as a precursor to formation of meso-scale patterns. We use a combination of analytic theory, numerical simulations and experimental observations in our research. Recent results from our group include a comprehensive study of instabilities in deformable tubes and rectangular channels, which have uncovered a host of new instabilities which are absent in rigid tubes and channels. Such instabilities could be potentially exploited in microfluidic devices for improving mixing. We use the spectral method extensively to determine the stability boundaries, and back this up with analytical calculations using asymptotic analyses in particular regimes. More information, including reprints of publications from our group can be found in http://home.iitk.ac.in/~vshankar