Dr Louisa Michael

Louisa Michael received her BSc. in Mathematics (with Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics) from Imperial College London in 2007. She then studied Part III Mathematics (CASM) at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMPT) in the University of Cambridge. She received a PhD in Physics (Cavendish Laboratory) from the University of Cambridge in 2012 under the supervision of Dr. Nikolaos Nikiforakis, funded by ORICA. She has held a postdoctoral position jointly supported by Jaguar Land Rover and the UK-EPSRC grant EP/K014188/1 as part of the jointly funded Programme for Simulation Innovation on whole-vehicle simulation and a postdoctoral position funded by DSO National Laboratory on detonation-generated electrostatic charge. She currently holds a postdoctoral position funded by Boeing Research and Technology on detonation-induced electromagnetic pulses. She is also involved in other projects funded by UK-EPSRC (modelling of detonators for optimisation of their design in mining, equation of state and reaction rate models development) and Boeing Research and Tecnology (Lightning strike on aircraft).

Research interests:

Louisa Michael's research is primarily on multi-physics, multi-material, multi-scale and multi-phase problems. In particular, she is interested in developing appropriate governing equations and associated numerical algorithms to accurately simulate such systems. She focuses on the form of the equations that allow the simultaneous solution of Euler, reactive flow and elastoplastic systems of equations on the same grid, with the same finite volume methods. She is also developing mixed Riemann solvers for such systems to ensure the correct communication of information across material interfaces. Of particular interest are also combustion problems and their mathematical representation and numerical solution. Latest interests include numerical modelling of explosively generated electromagnetic effects and plasma arc induced detonations.

Louisa has worked on numerous industrial funded applications including: sensitization of condensed-phase explosives (ORICA), multi-material modelling (Qinetiq), multi-phase flows and fluid-structure interaction (Schlumberger), HPC & Simulation Knowledge Mining and Abstraction, wading, internal combustion engines, crash and fuel initiation (Jaguar LandRover).

Current Teaching:

MPhil in Scientific Computing, University of Cambridge:

• Computational Continuum Modelling (Michaelmas 2018)
• Advanced Continuum Modelling (Michaelmas 2018)
• Introduction to Computational Multiphysics (guest lecturer, Michaelmas 2018)

Past teaching:

MPhil in Scientific Computing, University of Cambridge:

• Numerical methods for hyperbolic PDEs (Michaelmas 2017, Michaelmas 2016, Michaelmas 2015)
• Fundamentals in Numerical Analysis (substitute, Michaelmas 2017)
• Numerical Integration and ODEs (substitute, Michaelmas 2017)
• Numerical Differentiation and PDEs (substitute, Michaelmas 2017)
• Linear Systems (substitute, Michaelmas 2017)
• Numerical methods for hyperbolic PDEs (Michaelmas 2016, Michaelmas 2015)
• Gridding techniques and continuum modelling (Lent 2017, Lent 2016)

High performance computing autumn academy, University of Cambridge:

• Numerical methods for hyperbolic PDEs (September 2016)

Applied Detonation Physics and Blast Modelling Academy, University of Cambridge:

• Multi-phase detonations in elastic-plastic confinement (September 2014)
• Temperature distribution due to cavity collapse in non-ideal explosives (March 2015, September 2014)

 Undergraduate supervisions, Selwyn college:

• Vector Calculus (2008-2011)
• Differential equations (2008-2011)