The Philofluid research group, coordinated by Professor Daniela Tordella at Politecnico di Torino, recently hosted an insightful seminar as part of its ongoing series on advanced fluid dynamics and atmospheric physics.

The seminar was delivered by Professor Luminita Danaila, from the University of Rouen Normandy and the Laboratory of Continental and Coastal Morphodynamics. The title of her talk was:

“Scalars Statistics and Extreme Events in Non-Equilibrium Systems”

Professor Danaila presented a theoretical framework grounded in first principles to investigate scalar statistics at different scales, with a particular focus on higher-order moments—statistical features that capture rare and extreme events in turbulent systems.

The seminar highlighted the explicit influence of large-scale flow features—such as gradients, advection, waves, and coherent structures—on small-scale scalar behaviors. The studied scalars included kinetic energy, temperature, humidity, and salinity, all of which play essential roles in environmental and engineering contexts.

To illustrate these dynamics, Professor Danaila presented three compelling examples across diverse flow regimes:

• Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of homogeneous isotropic turbulence under imposed mean scalar gradients.

• Quantum turbulence, modeled using the HVBK (Hall–Vinen–Bekharevich–Khalatnikov) equations.

• Atmospheric flows, simulated via the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model with Large Eddy Simulation (LES), focusing particularly on heat wave events over France.

These case studies collectively emphasized how small-scale scalar statistics are deeply influenced by large-scale flow dynamics, reinforcing the importance of multi-scale interactions in understanding and modeling turbulent systems.

About the Speaker

Professor Luminita Danaila is a renowned physicist at the University of Rouen Normandy, with a long-standing joint appointment at the University of Newcastle, Australia (2012–2024). She earned her PhD from Aix-Marseille University in 1998, receiving the Thesis Prize from the French Association of Mechanics in 1999. Among other distinctions, she was awarded the Amelia Earhart Fellowship (1995) and the 2021 Distinguished Paper Award at the 38th International Symposium on Combustion.

She has served as Director of the French National Group of Research in Turbulence (GdR Turbulence) and as coordinator of the ERCOFTAC France-West Pilot Center. Currently, she is Associate Editor for Physical Review Fluids. Her research spans turbulence theory, scalar transport, superfluid and atmospheric flows, and applications in sustainable energy technologies, including wind energy and phase change systems.

For more information about the Philofluir research group and upcoming events, please visit: 

https://philofluid.polito.it/wpcontent/uploads/2025/06/Presentation_230710.pdf