Fluid Mechanics

Leading the transition away from fossil fuels and into renewable energy.


From studying fundamentals to standing in North America's second-longest river, our research covers a diverse set of topics and approaches to the study of fluid mechanics. Fluid mechanics covers liquids and gases and studies them both at rest and in motion to determine how they react to various forces. To facilitate this research, the University of Minnesota has its own 426-foot wind turbine and a lab on an island in the Mississippi River, making it uniquely situated for this field and for large-scale flow measurements. Our faculty have strengths in a diverse set of fluid flow regimes (turbulence, environmental flows, interfacial phenomena, jet stability, atomization, rheology) and technical expertise (computation, PIV measurements, holography, theory, microfluidics). The department has strong support from and connections with both government agencies and industry, and is particularly well-known for its fundamental fluid mechanics research — the backbone of fluid-related study.

Take a look around our labs.

Flow Field Imaging Lab

SAFL