Assistant Professor

E-mail address:rui_yang@tsinghua.edu.cn

Introduction

Rui Yang is an Assistant Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at the School of Aerospace Engineering and the Center for Combustion Energy, Tsinghua University. He is a recipient of the NSFC Excellent Young Scholars Award (Overseas). His honors include graduating cum laude with his Ph.D. in the Netherlands and the GFD Fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States. His research focuses primarily on multiphase flows and turbulence. He has published more than 20 SCI-indexed papers and currently serves as a Young Editorial Board Member of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters.


Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers with backgrounds in fluid mechanics and related fields are warmly welcome to contact us and join our research group!

OfficeLee Shau Kee Science and Technology Building B-529Tsinghua University

Emailrui_yang@tsinghua.edu.cn

Education Background

2020-2023 Ph.D., University of Twente, Physics of Fluids Department

2018-2020 M.Sc., University of Twente, Physics of Fluids Department

2014-2018 B.Sc., University of Science and Technology of China, Department of Modern Mechanics

Experience

2026-now Assistant Professor, Center for Combustion Energy, and School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University

2024-2026 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, USA

2023-2024 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Physics of Fluids Department,  University of Twente, the Netherlands

Concurrent Academic

Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters, Early Career Editorial Board Member

International Journal of Multiphase Flow, Managing Editor

Areas of Research Interests/ Research Projects

Interfacial flows and heat and mass transfer; numerical simulation of multiphase turbulence.

Research Status

My research focuses on multiphase flows coupled with multiple physical fields under extreme environments. It includes high-fidelity direct numerical simulations across scales, ranging from small-scale interfacial dynamics (e.g., droplets and bubbles) to large-scale turbulent heat transfer and phase change. The research goal is to unravel the underlying flow control mechanisms, providing a theoretical basis for advanced manufacturing and space thermal management.

Honors And Awards

2025 NSFC National Excellent Young Scholars Award (Overseas)

2023 Dutch Ph.D. graduated Cum Laude, University of Twente

2022 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Fellowship, WHOI

Academic Achievement

PublicationsORCID: 0000-0002-9870-6743

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=umZyYr0AAAAJ&hl=en

Selected Publications

1. R. Yang*, Z. Liu, P. K. Farsoiya, S. Popinet, and L. Deike*, Surfactant effects on gravity-capillary waves, J. Fluid Mech., 1031, A2 (2026).

2. G. Vacca*, R. Yang, C. Howland, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, “Thermohaline circulation in a box”: Heat and salinity transport in double-diffusive horizontal convection, J. Fluid Mech., 1034, A24 (2026).

3. C. Demirkır, R. Yang, A. Bashkatov, V. Sanjay, D. Lohse, and D. Krug*, To jump or not to jump: Adhesion and viscous dissipation dictate the detachment of coalescing wall-attached bubbles, Phys. Rev. Fluids, 10(12), 123602 (2025).

4. Z. Zheng, Y. Zhou, Y. Wang, Z. Cao, R. Yang, Y. Li, E. Gu, J. Yao, Z. Wang, J. Ma, B. Yan*, and L. Shi*, High-value organic solvent recovery and reuse in perovskite solar cell manufacturing, Sci. Adv., 11(34), eadt6008 (2025).

5. R. Yang*, D. Xu, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Asymmetric equilibrium states for melting and freezing in thermal convection, J. Fluid Mech., 1017, A12 (2025).

6. R. Yang* and P. J. Schmid, Complex-network modeling of reversal events in two-dimensional turbulent thermal convection, J. Fluid Mech., 1011, A30 (2025).

7. X. Ye*, K. Qin, R. Yang, and J. A. Dijksman, Rebounding hydrogel sphere water entry, J. Fluid Mech., 1013, A2 (2025).

8. R. Yang*, C. Howland, H.-R. Liu, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Enhanced efficiency of latent heat energy storage by inclination, PRX Energy, 3(4), 043006 (2024).

9. R. Yang, K. L. Chong*, H.-R. Liu*, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Melting and solidification in periodically modulated thermal convection, J. Fluid Mech., 998, A10 (2024).

10. R. Yang, T. van den Ham, R. Verzicco, D. Lohse, and S. G. Huisman, Circular objects do not melt the slowest in water, Phys. Rev. Fluids, 9(8), 083501 (2024).

11. R. Yang*, C. Howland, H.-R. Liu, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse, Shape effect on solid melting in flowing liquid, J. Fluid Mech., 980, R1 (2024).

12. R. Yang, C. Howland, H.-R. Liu, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Bistability in radiatively heated melt ponds, Phys. Rev. Lett., 131, 234002 (2023).

13. R. Yang*, C. Howland*, H.-R. Liu*, R. Verzicco*, and D. Lohse*, Ice melting in salty water: layering and non-monotonic dependence on the mean salinity, J. Fluid Mech., 969, R2 (2023).

14. R. Yang*, C. Howland*, H.-R. Liu*, R. Verzicco*, and D. Lohse*, Morphology evolution of a melting solid layer above its melt heated from below, J. Fluid Mech., 956, A23 (2023) (JFM Cover Paper).

15. R. Yang, K. L. Chong*, H.-R. Liu, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Abrupt transition from slow to fast melting of ice, Phys. Rev. Fluids, 7(8), 083503 (2022).

16. H.-R. Liu, K. L. Chong*, R. Yang, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Heat transfer in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection through two immiscible fluid layers, J. Fluid Mech., 938, A31 (2022) (JFM Cover Paper).

17. R. Yang, C. S. Ng*, K. L. Chong*, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Do increased flow rates in displacement ventilation always lead to better results? J. Fluid Mech., 932, A3 (2022) (JFM Cover Paper).

18. K. L. Chong, C. S. Ng, N. Hori, R. Yang, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Extended lifetime of respiratory droplets in a turbulent vapor puff and its implications on airborne disease transmission, Phys. Rev. Lett., 126, 034502 (2021) (PRL Cover Paper, APS Focus report).

19. C. S. Ng#, K. L. Chong#, R. Yang, M. Li, R. Verzicco, and D. Lohse*, Growth of respiratory droplets in cold and humid air, Phys. Rev. Fluids, 6, 054303 (2021) (Featured in Physics, Editors' Suggestion).

20. R. Yang#, K. L. Chong#, Q. Wang, R. Verzicco, O. Shishkina, and D. Lohse*, Periodically modulated thermal convection, Phys. Rev. Lett., 125, 154502 (2020) (APS Focus report).