Joe Alexandersen

Project title

Breaking the time barrier: COmputational Morphogenesis FOR Time-dependent problems (COMFORT)

What is your project about?

My project will develop faster methods to gain deeper insight into complex time-dependent flows, through computational morphogenesis. The word morphogenesis means growth of biological structures. By computational morphogenesis, I mean the automatic generation of structures and designs for complex engineering challenges. The process consists of a combination of mathematical optimisation and computer simulations of the underlying physics, to drive the design towards optimal performance. It is a methodology, that provides a deeper understanding of physics and thereby we gain insight into how we design better components, structures, and machines. It is an iterative process, consisting of many simulations one after the other. This means that the calculation time increases enormously when you have time-dependent flows, since one simulation must generate an entire movie, rather than just one image. To reduce the waiting time by at least one order of magnitude, my research team and I will develop specialised computational methods for use on supercomputers.

How did you become interested in your particular field of research?

It was actually by chance that I stumbled upon this field of research. It has probably always been in the cards that I should become a researcher, due to my natural ability in mathematics, my fundamental curiosity, and my father being a researcher. But after high school I was tired of school, and I wanted to be a blacksmith and a mechanic, so I could build and modify cars. However, I ended up applying to study mechanical engineering. The aim was to finish quickly and get out to work as a graduate engineer. During my studies, however, I was captivated by the world of computer simulation and the mathematics behind it. During my internship, I also realised that I actually did not want to be an "ordinary" engineer. So, I stuck around in academia and have since immersed myself in simulation methods, mathematical analysis, programming, and flow dynamics – among many other things.

What are the scientific challenges and perspectives in your project?

Computational morphogenesis is in practice limited to static problems, where it is assumed that the physical state is constant over time. It can be described by a single image, which can be generated quickly with a computer simulation. I will advance the field to address time-dependent problems, where the state changes dynamically over time. This means that in order to describe the entire physical state, and thus the performance of the given component, one needs an entire film – a lot of images in sequence. This takes significantly longer to generate, as traditional computational methods calculate, or "record", one image after another. The goal of my project is to reduce the time-to-solution by one order of magnitude by developing specialised computational methods for running on supercomputers.

What is your estimate of the impact, which your project may have to society in the long term?

The case study for the project is a so-called "fluidic oscillator", which is a special nozzle with applications in increasing energy production from wind turbines, or cooling electronics with high power density, amongst other things. There are a few different designs, that are quite old by now. But a systematic exploration of the design space has never been carried out using computer-driven methods with high design freedom – such as computational morphogenesis. I will rectify this by first developing calculation methods to reduce the calculation time considerably. Our method can then be used to gain fundamental insight into fluid dynamics and help us design better nozzles in the future. Although my project focuses on fluid dynamics, I will develop a general methodology that subsequently can be further developed for other physics. In the long term, it can thus help develop future technologies within thermal energy storage, lab-on-a-chip devices, photonics, and much more.

Which impact do you expect the Sapere Aude programme will have on your career as a researcher?

It will make a huge difference! Firstly, I can finally pursue an idea that I have had for quite a few years now. In addition, since 2019 I have worked hard to start up research activities in my field from scratch at SDU. It has been a tough battle to be alone in my research area without senior researchers to draw on. Getting a Sapere Aude grant means that I can kick-start my research group and continue building a solid and world-leading research environment within the field. The Sapere Aude grant equips me to secure other large grants in the future, such as an ERC grant to continue the development from this project to the other areas mentioned above. It really means a lot to be trusted by DFF as a young research leader and I am looking forward to getting started with the project!

Background and personal life

I live in Refsvindinge with my wife, Ida, and our cat, Betty. We moved here when I started at SDU in 2019 and we really enjoy having extra space, a garden, and a workshop - without costing an arm and a leg. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time in my workshop, where I make things on my metal lathe. I also brew beer, cider, and recently wine. In addition, I like to cook and listen to podcasts about everything clever and not so clever. After many years abroad, my parents are finally back in Denmark, so I try to visit them when it fits into a busy life as a researcher.