Daniel Araya
Profile
Alumni Resnick Graduate Research Fellow
Daniel graduated from Caltech with a PhD in aerospace. He received both his BS and MS degrees in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University, and his master's work focused on the numerical simulation of plasma plumes for space propulsion applications. At Caltech, his research fcused on understanding and manipulating the aerodynamics of large wind farms. Specifically, the wake interaction among closely spaced, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs). The goal of his PhD work was to enhance the energy efficiency of wind farms by making use of constructive fluid interactions among VAWTs. If successful, this could greatly boost the current wind capabilities in the US, including a means for effectively harvesting wind energy near population centers.
Daniel is currently an Aerospace Engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
RSI Research: Exploiting Turbine Wake Interactions for Enhanced Wind Farm Efficiency
Faculty Adviser: John O. Dabiri
PhD Thesis: Aerodynamics of Vertical-axis Wind Turbines in Full-scale and Laboratory-scale Experiments