LIFD Early Career Researcher Spotlight: Andrea Sendula

Thesis title: 

Developing mathematical models to incorporate fracture mechanics into viscous flow

School/Faculty:

CDT in Fluid Dynamics, School of Computer Science

Supervisors:

Dr Sam Pegler, Prof Sandra Piazolo and Dr Oliver Harlen

Tell us a bit about yourself:

I’m currently in the third year of the fluids CDT programme, and in my second year of my PhD. I did my undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, where I realised that I really enjoy fluid dynamics and wanted to pursue it further. I decided to apply to the CDT to just that, as it gave me the opportunity to learn alongside others with similar interests. Outside of my PhD, I enjoy running, swimming, and hiking, and anything else that gets me outdoors.

What is your research about?

My research is inspired by cracks and crevasses in glacial ice, and how they interact with the viscous flow of glaciers. In particular, I’m interested in fractures in viscoelastic materials, which, like ice, can behave both like a viscous fluid and an elastic solid across different scales. Through a combination of numerical and analytical techniques, I hope to gain insight into the behaviour of a material around a moving crack and formulate simplified models to describe it.

What did you wish you knew before starting a PhD?

One thing that I wish I had learnt sooner was that progress in a PhD is rarely linear, and always slower than you’d hope!  I’ve had to learn a lot about resilience and dealing with the frustration that I can spend a lot of time on tasks that ultimately end up being a dead end. Being able to focus on the small achievements and understanding there’s a lot to learn even from failed attempts has really helped me push through even when it has felt like I was making no progress.

What are your plans for the future

I have really enjoyed the style of research that I have done so far, so my current plans are to pursue a postdoc in fluid dynamics and continue in academia.