Graduate Seminar Series - Dr. Pedro Castillo

Pedro Castillo, Ph.D.

Aerospace Engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory

Friday, November 13th, 2026, 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Jett Hall, room 109

Title: Seminar Title: Numerical Investigation of Wall-cooling and Mach-number Effects on Aero-optical Distortions of Turbulent Boundary Layers

ABSTRACT: When light propagates through the atmosphere, it encounters variations in temperature and pressure that can be translated into fluctuations in the index of refraction of air, leading to phase velocity and intensity perturbations. In addition, turbulent boundary layers over the surface of high-speed vehicles exhibit strong density fluctuations that distort the optical path of light beams reaching or leaving a surface. This distortion of light is of great interest for directed energy applications, optical sensors and communications as well as astronomy. Modeling these effects in a numerical environment is crucial for accurately predicting the beam’s behavior. An overview of several wall-modeled large-eddy simulations (WMLES) of turbulent boundary-layer flows over a flat plate at high Mach numbers will be presented, and the aero-optical distortions resulting from density fluctuations will be discussed.

BIO: Dr. Pedro Castillo joined the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as an Aerospace Engineer in September 2024. He received his B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua (Mexico), a dual B.S. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering from New Mexico State University. His research interests include computational fluid dynamics of high-speed flows and real-gas effects, with applications to aero-optics, sensors, communications, among others.