Press tips for the 74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics

Nearly 2,500 scientists and engineers will present new research on the physics of fluids at the 74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics.

Held November 21 - 23, 2021, in Phoenix, Arizona, with a virtual component, the meeting includes talks on COVID-proofing daily life, kimchi physics, extreme heat waves, next-gen dishwashers, jellyfish engineers, and firefighting trees. Sessions cover liquid, plastic, and gaseous states of matter under varying conditions of temperature and pressure.

The 40th Annual Gallery of Fluid Motion will be held as part of the meeting, illustrating the science—and very often also the beauty—of fluid motion. The Gallery offers a series of high-resolution videos and posters that can be watched or viewed online. Award-winning entries will be announced on Monday, November 22.

Members of the media and student journalists are invited to explore more than 250 sessions, invited and award talks, and minisymposia. Five live press briefings will be held virtually. Please consult the scientific program for the most up-to-date schedule. Browse a selection of featured talks in the DFD Newsroom and a list of additional meeting highlights below.

Please note all session times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST) (GMT-7).

Complimentary registration is available to those with APS press credentials on the general meeting registration page. Request press credentials through this form.

 

Press Briefing Schedule

Live virtual press briefings for the 74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics will be held online. Researchers will take questions from journalists. Please register at the links below for the press briefing you would like to attend. Once your registration has been approved, you will receive details on how to connect. For those unable to attend, recordings of the briefings will be made available upon request.

New Ways for Dynamical Prediction of Extreme Heat Waves
Monday, November 22, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MST
Register for the press briefing

• Freddy Bouchet, CNRS

How to COVID-Proof the Grocery Line, Classroom, and Orchestra
Monday, November 22, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. MST
Register for the press briefing

• Alfredo Soldati, TU Wien
• Philippe Bourrianne, Princeton University
• Rao Kotamarthi, Argonne National Laboratory
• Varghese Mathai, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Turning the Sticky to Slippery
Monday, November 22, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. MST
Register for the press briefing

• Rukmava Chatterjee, University of Illinois at Chicago

Firefighting Trees
Tuesday, November 23, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. MST
Register for the press briefing

• Roni Goldshmid, California Institute of Technology

The Future of Face Masks
Tuesday, November 23, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. MST
Register for the press briefing

• Saikat Basu, South Dakota State University
• Abhishek Saha, University of California San Diego
• Tanya Purwar, Purdue University

 

Additional Meeting Highlights

9:18 a.m. MST, Sunday, November 21
Jellyfish Engineers
An average population of Cassiopea jellyfish can mix an entire ocean water column in 15 minutes, moving some hundreds of liters per hour per animal. New data builds on a recent study revealing the jellyfish as ecosystem engineers who also release trapped nutrients in their mangrove habitats. Abstract | PNAS Paper
Contact: Bradford Gemmell, University of South Florida

2:45 p.m. MST, Sunday, November 21
Kimchi Physics
For the first time, researchers filmed gassy bacteria fermenting cabbage in Onggi (traditional Korean porous earthenware pots). They find that the pots limit bacterial numbers, acting as a safety valve to prevent over-fermentation of the kimchi. Abstract
Contact: Soohwan Kim, Georgia Institute of Technology

3:24 p.m. MST, Sunday, November 21
Sand Bubbles
“Bubblators” form within sand and stay pinned in a bubble shape. Similar to how desert dunes weather down, the edges of the bubbles oscillate in a surprising way. Abstract
Contact: Andras Karsai, Georgia Institute of Technology

5:25 p.m. MST, Sunday, November 21
Surfing Birds
Researchers put European starlings in a wind tunnel with turbulences simulating the wake of another bird to see how the starlings interact with them. The study could help explain the benefits of flocking. Abstract
Contact: Sonja I. Friman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

6:04 p.m. MST, Sunday, November 21
Insects Resist the Rain
Water striders sometimes spend their entire lives at sea, never touching the ground. When bombarded by raindrops many times their weight, the bugs plunge underwater or shoot into the air—but quickly regain their footing. Video footage of this rainy resilience bodes well for future robots. Abstract | Florida Poly Press Release
Contact: Daren A. Watson, Florida Polytechnic University

8:00 a.m. MST, Monday, November 22
Fungi Measure the Wind
Experiments in a wind tunnel reveal that Neurospora fungi act as speedometers. They carefully grow their spore-distributing parts to the ideal height based on how fast the wind is blowing. Abstract
Contact: Marcus Roper, University of California, Los Angeles

8:39 a.m. MST, Monday, November 22
The Landslide Brought a Tsunami
In September, a destructive volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands raised fears that landslides could trigger a tsunami. A new model introduces a crucial step to predicting landslide-generated tsunamis: showing how initial water and collapse conditions create different kinds of waves. Abstract | Journal of Fluid Mechanics Paper
Contact: Wladimir Sarlin, CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay

9:05 a.m. MST, Monday, November 22
Next-Gen Dishwashers
Superheated steam reduces the water and energy dishwashers use. The germ-killing method could improve practices in hospitals and restaurants. Abstract
Contact: Natalie Germann, Technical University of Dortmund

2:02 p.m. MST, Monday, November 22
Hearts and Bubbles Under Pressure
The first successful attempt to reconstruct pressure in an area with voids (some heart-shaped) corrects for experimental errors. The new tool could help reveal how bubbles form, grow, and collapse. Abstract | Physics of Fluids Paper
Contact: Xiaofeng Liu, San Diego State University

6:15 p.m. MST, Monday, November 22
Firefighting Trees
A deep learning model uses drone footage of swaying trees to measure wind speed. It could potentially offer firefighters real-time wind maps to combat large wildfires. Abstract | Register for Live Press Briefing
Contact: Roni Goldshmid, Caltech

8:26 a.m. MST, Tuesday, November 23
Keeping Refugees Safe From COVID
COVID-19 outbreaks will likely continue in refugee camps for some time. Airflow simulations of a camp healthcare shelter suggest opening windows in the shelter walls and sides perpendicular to the wind direction, as well as placing infected patients near the downwind side, so viral particles leave the shelter instead of circulating through. Abstract
Contact: John Hochschild, Stanford University

8:26 a.m. MST, Tuesday, November 23
A Supersized Spiral Swimmer
Biomedical devices seek to mimic the helical swimming of tiny bacteria. Now scientists have discovered the secrets of a giant helical swimmer: salps, marine animals that are born into long chains and can travel many meters in a corkscrew pattern. Abstract
Contact: Kelly R. Sutherland, University of Oregon

1:32 p.m. MST, Tuesday, November 23
Slow-Motion Banana Gun
A high-speed nozzle (simulated in super slow motion) uses steam to spew banana puree in a droplet spray. Abstract
Contact: Daniel Wilson, Liberty University

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