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Clara O'Farrell
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Welcome! You've stumbled upon Clara O'Farrell's webpage. I'm currently a PhD Candidate in Control and Dynamical Systems at Caltech, and a member of John Dabiri's group, the Biological Propulsion Lab.
Research Interests
I am interested in controls, dynamical systems, fluid dynamics, and (most importantly) in the intersection of these three. Clearly, these three interests could only converge on one thing: jellyfish. Why jellyfish? In John's words, jellyfish are "an integral component of ocean ecology and also represent one of the oldest forms of biological propulsion still in existence. Their simple morphology and body kinematics make them a promising candidate for studies aimed at uncovering design principles that have led to the success of these and more complex biological propulsion systems."
As an undegraduate, I worked on methods for identifying and tracking hairpin packets in direct numerical simulation (DNS) data of hypersonic turbulent boundary layers, under the direction of Pino Martin at the CRoCCo Lab.
At the Dabiri Lab, I have worked on computing the Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) in biological and bio-inspired flows, and on applying LCS methods vortex dynamics problems in biological and ocean flows.
Projects (past and present)
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Publications
- Perturbation response and pinch-off of vortex rings and dipoles
C. O'Farrell and J. O. Dabiri (2012)
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 704, pp. 280-300
(pdf)
- A Lagrangian approach to identifying vortex pinch-off
C. O'Farrell and J. O. Dabiri (2010)
Chaos: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science
Focus Issue on Lagrangian coherent structures in fluid flows Vol. 20, 017513 (pdf).
- Chasing eddies and their wall signature in DNS data of turbulent boundary layers
C. O'Farrell and M. P. Martin (2009)
Journal of Turbulence. Vol. 10, N 15.
Academic
Ph. D. in Control and Dynamical Systems
California Institute of Technology, in progress.
B.S.E. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Applications of Computing
Summa cum laude
Princeton University, 2008
Funding and awards
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2008.
Betty and Gordon Moore Fellowship (Caltech), 2008-2009.
CV
Media
"An eel's wake", Caltech Engineering&Science (e&s), Volume LXXIII Number 3
Contact
Control and Dynamical Systems
California Institute of Technology
1200 E California Blvd MC 107-81
Pasadena, CA 91125
ofarrell@cds.caltech.edu
