Biography
Dr Chris Willman is Stipendiary Lecturer in Engineering at St Hugh’s College. Chris studied Physics at the University of Oxford, graduating with an MPhys in 2012 and completing a DPhil on “Laser diagnostics for spatially resolved thermometry in combustion and flows” in 2016. He then joined the Department of Engineering Science as a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in the Thermal Propulsion Systems research group. Chris has been a lecturer at St Hugh’s College since 2019, following a year as Director of Studies for Engineering at Harris Manchester College.
Research
Chris’ research involves the design and application of optical diagnostic techniques for flow measurements. Fluid flows are critical to a wide variety of fields, from thermal propulsion systems in the transport sector to inhaler sprays for respiratory drug delivery. The remote nature of optical techniques enables non-invasive measurements of flow properties in locations or at timescales which are inaccessible to physical probes.
Chris has a particular interest in developing novel measurement capabilities, such as real-time remote measurement of local gas pressure and temperature using Laser-Induced Grating Scattering (LIGS). He is also investigating mixing processes and flame propagation inside ultra-lean internal combustion engines using Particle-Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF), contributing to the design of higher efficiency and reduced emissions hybrid powertrains by validating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.
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