Adams

Yaron Ben-Ami 2018-2019

Institution of PhD:
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Academic Discipline of PhD:
Aerospcae Engineering
PhD Advisor/s:
Prof. Avshalom Manela
Dissertation Topic:
Effect of Thermal Boundary Conditions on Heat and Mass Transfer Processes in Rarefied Gas Flows
Present Institution:
Duke University
Present Academic Position:
Postdoctoral Fellow

Yaron Ben-Ami was born and raised in Kibbutz Gal‘ed. From a young age he took a keen interest in mathematics and science, though his fondness for riding tractors led him to believe that he would grow up to be a farmer rather than a scientist.

After serving in the army as an infantry officer, Yaron started his BSc studies in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and he continued there for his MSc. Yaron graduated both degrees summa cum laude, ranking first in his class. His MSc research, carried out under the supervision of Prof. Avi Levy, considered the modelling of the erosive wear caused by solid particles conveyed in a fluid. In the course of this work, Yaron became infatuated with the field of fluid mechanics and fascinated by the variety of complex phenomena that could be formulated and analyzed using a compact set of equations. Consequently, he chose to proceed to PhD studies in the field of rarefied gas dynamics in the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion, under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Avshalom Manela.

In his current research, Yaron is investigating the effect of thermal boundary conditions on rarefied gas flows. His research, focusing on the coupling phenomena characterizing the dynamic and thermodynamic flow descriptions in non-equilibrium gas flows, is expected to aid in analyzing heat- and mass-transfer processes prevailing in micro-scale devices and low-pressure transport vehicles, such as the recently developed Hyperloop and high-altitude aircrafts.

Alongside his research, Yaron is a much-appreciated teaching assistant in undergraduate courses on incompressible aerodynamics and viscous flow, where he shares his enthusiasm for fluid mechanics with the students.

In the course of his studies, Yaron met and married his beloved wife, Netta. They have two smart and beautiful children, Ori and Gur.