Our Aims

The aim of the TF Group is to create world-leading engineering knowledge in the fluid and thermal sciences, in order to address major societal challenges relating to climate, environment, and energy. The group educates students across a broad range of fundamental and advanced topics, contributing towards the training and development of future engineers. Research output from the group is transferred to industry, research institutes, policy makers, and the public through teaching, open access publication of research, collaborations, innovation, and outreach activities.

Our research

The group holds core expertise in the areas of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, which can be broadly grouped within three research themes: aerodynamics and turbulence; multiphase and free-surface flows; and thermal energy. The group has an active research portfolio, including highly competitive national and European funded projects. Since 2016 the group has been awarded 4 highly prestigious ERC grants, which are awarded based on research excellence and potential.

The group has a demonstrated track record in both fundamental and applied research, successfully obtaining numerous individual grants and participating in large research centres on more applied topics. The group manages several well-equipped specialised laboratory spaces, providing access to unique state-of-the-art research infrastructure. 

Our Education

The group is responsible for teaching basic and advanced courses in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics across major Norwegian Engineering study programmes to hundreds of undergraduate students. Professors and local research teams are responsible for the education and training of Bachelors, Masters, and PhD students. Outreach activities are also conducted to increase public awareness of the scientific work conducted within the group. 

The group is responsible for teaching large flagship courses in fundamental fluid mechanics and thermodynamics across the university, as part of major 5-year integrated Masters programmes in Mechanical Engineering and Energy and Environmental Engineering, 3-year Bachelors programmes, and several 2-year Masters programmes. The significant number of students taking these basic courses in their second year means that the group has a significant impact on education across a wide range of degree programmes.

See also: Study with us. 

An international outlook

The group is highly international, with the majority of both permanent faculty and temporary researchers obtaining their degrees outside of Norway. Furthermore, the group actively collaborates with academic and non-academic partners on a national and international level both within and across scientific disciplines. These collaborations foster multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research through research centres, research projects, and international networks. Common characteristics of our collaborations are the combination of theoretical, experimental, and computational methods and the aim to receive or distribute important knowledge, methods, tools, processes, and data to solve research challenges which are not possible to address in isolation. 

Our Societal contribution

Our fundamental research aims to make breakthroughs in key societal challenges. Our research is important to a broad range of societal challenges including climate, the environment, clean energy, industrial innovations, and biological fluid flows. Examples include how the ocean absorbs CO2, the mixing of pollutants in the atmosphere, thermal processes for heat, power and cooling which depend upon phase change and chemical reactions, to the behaviour of microscopic bubbles and droplets for microfluidic devices. These examples serve to illustrate how thermo-fluid dynamics are ubiquitous and important in many natural and industrial processes, and have a massive impact on our daily lives, the economy, and the realisation of a sustainable future.