Daniele Massaro

Postdoctoral researcher in Fluid Mechanics at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. My current research aims to investigate vortex dynamics in wall-bounded flows. During my PhD, I studied transitional and turbulent shear flows through space-adaptive direct numerical simulations.

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About Me

Originally from Verona, I hold a Bachelor and Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano. During my Master's thesis, I conducted research on the stability of wall-bounded flows with spanwise forcing with Prof. Maurizio Quadrio. Then I obtained a PhD in computational fluid dynamics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, under the supervision of Prof. Philipp Schlatter and Lect. Saleh Rezaeiravesh. We conducted space-adaptive direct numerical simulations to study transitional and turbulent shear flows. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral fellow at MIT working on vortex dynamics with Prof. Wim van Rees. 

Contact Details

Daniele Massaro
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Depart. of Mechanical Engineering
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
danmas@mit.edu

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Research

Interests

My interests have been broad, spanning philosophy, history, and natural sciences since my school days. While I chose to pursue a scientific path, I have retained a deep passion for the humanistic arts and literature, immersing myself in classic novels (a few of my recommendations can be found below). During my studies at Politecnico di Milano, I developed a strong theoretical foundation, particularly shaped by mathematical courses such as functional and complex analysis. My education also encompassed a range of specialised subjects, including rotary wing dynamics, spacecraft orbit characterisation, and the structural design of aerospace systems. Among these, fluid mechanics captivated me the most, as it beautifully integrates mathematics, physics, and engineering.

My journey into the field of turbulence began with my Master’s thesis on stability and transition delay. During my PhD, I explored wall turbulence and coherent structures, employing high-order spectral element methods and adaptive mesh refinement in direct numerical simulations. To deepen our understanding, we applied established techniques such as Proper Orthogonal Decomposition, alongside cutting-edge methods like transfer entropy from Information Theory, to uncover new mechanisms in transitional and turbulent flows.

I have also explored, and may further pursue in the future, other topics such as wind turbine design, biological flows, adjoint-based optimisation, and vortex dynamics.

Teaching

KTH

Teaching assistant

  • Mekanik I (Classical Mechanics) - 2020, 2021
  • Strömningsmekanik (Fluid Mechanics) - 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Teknisk strömningsmekanik (Fluid Mechanics for Engineers) - 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Supervision of Master thesis - 6 months in 2021

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Email

danmas@mit.edu