Meet the team
Principal Investigator
Sarah Beetham, PhD
Dr. Beetham is an assistant professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University. Her research focuses on understanding and modeling complex, 'messy' fluid flows, particularly those with societal importance. She obtained her PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2021.
Prior to completing her PhD, Dr. Beetham was a safety & restraints design engineering at Nissan Technical Center and a small gas engine calibration engineer at General Motors, Milford Proving Ground. She also holds an MFA in Creative writing and has a passion for effectively communicating science to people of all technical background and abilities.
EDUCATION
PhD in Mechanical Engineering & Scientific Computing
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2021)
MSE in Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2019)
MFA in Creative Writing
University of Southampton, UK (2010-2011)
BSE in Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2006-2010)
PhD students
Emily Foster, PhD Candidate
Emily Foster holds a BSE (2018) and MSE degree (2019) in mechanical engineering from Lawrence Technological University. She currently works for Ford Motor Company as a research and advancement engineer. Her research interests are fluid mechanics, controls and modeling & simulation.
Project: Simulation and modeling of pyroclastic density currents
(Joined: Winter 2022)
MS Students
Lee Rosenberg, PhD Candidate
Lee Rosenberg holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado Denver with a focus in Numerical Analysis and Numerical Linear Algebra and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Oakland University. He is a mechatronic software engineer at Aumovio working on electronic brake systems with a focus on hydraulic actuation and active safety monitoring. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University with a research focus on multiphase flows at a wide range of density ratios (bubbly to gas-solid flows) as well as multiphase flows with heat transfer. He is also a technical SCUBA diver and enjoys exploring shipwrecks in the great lakes and underwater cave systems.
Projects: Simulation and modeling of bubble induced turbulence & heat transfer in strongly coupled, wall-bounded flows, Particle Tracking Velocimetry for bubbly flows
(Joined Winter 2023)
Jacob Zelinski
Jacob is an MS student with an interest in numerical methodologies for Computational Fluid Dynamics, especially multiphase flows. Jacob received his BSE in Mechanical Engineering from OU in 2025. (Joined Fall 2025)
Project: Development of Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) for particle-laden flows in MFIX-Exa.
Jalen Thwany
Jalen received his BSE in Mechanical Engineering from OU in 2025 and is currently employed at TRAM, Inc. while pursuing his MS in Mechanical Engineering.
(Joined Fall 2025)
Project: Computational investigation of Rayleigh-Taylor instability for non-Newtonian fluids.
Madita Deinhard
Madita Deinhard is a Bioengineering student at Oakland University. She will begin a Master’s program in Mechanical Engineering at OU in January of 2026. Her interests include medical technology and research related to thrombogenesis within blood-contacting medical devices. In her free time, she enjoys playing card games, doing puzzles, and spending time with her pets. (Joined Summer 2025)
Project: Simulation and modeling of thrombogensis in wall bounded flows with recirculation.
Undergraduate Researchers
Allie Schoenherr
Allie is a Bioengineering student at OU. She loves anything math and science, but outside of school she enjoys hanging out with friends and family, baking, and doing any type of physical activity.
(Joined Fall 2025)
Project: Hydrodynamic scaling of algae cultivation
Yiming He
Yiming is a senior Mechanical Engineering student at Oakland University from China. Outside the classroom, he is a passionate short track speed skater — the 2024 National Junior A Champion in my age group. He also enjoys playing the clarinet, which inspires his creativity and balance in life. Yiming’s long-term goal is to combine engineering and sports by designing high-performance athletic equipment tailored for athletes like myself.
(Joined Fall 2025)
Project: Dynamic videography for PTV of bubble columns
Mark Ceuca
Mark is a Mechanical Engineering Student at OU. He is a member of the ME Student Advisory Board and ASME student chapter. He aspires to work as a race engineer in Formula One.
(Joined Fall 2025)
Project: Hydrodynamic scaling of algae cultivation
Owen Bricker
Owen is a Mechanical Engineering student at OU. He is the Mechanical Lead for the OU Robotics Team.
(Joined Fall 2025)
Projects: Hydrodynamic scaling of algae cultivation & Model sensitivity analysis for reduced-order pyroclastic density current simulations.
Group Alumni
PhD Students
Madhumita Chilakalapudi, Fall 2022—Winter 2024
MS Students
Lee Rosenberg, Winter 2023—Winter 2024
MS Thesis: “Euler-Lagrange Simulation and Analysis of Bubble-Induced Turbulence”
Jeremy Davis, Winter 2024
Undergraduate Students
Lauren Merrel, REU 2022
Project: Hydrodynamic scaling of micro algae growth for biodiesel production
Noah Lemmons, REU 2022
Project: Hydrodynamic scaling of micro algae growth for biodiesel production
Matthew Meehan, Summer 2023
Project: A low-cost PIV system for gas-solid fluidization
Ian Smith, Summer 2023
Project: A low-cost PIV system for gas-solid fluidization
Mallory Carr, Summer 2024
Project: Low-cost, energy efficient algae cultivation system for cold-weather climates
Dane VonAllmen, Summer 2024
Project: Low-cost, energy efficient algae cultivation system for cold-weather climates
Reese Ford, Summer 2024
Project: Low-cost, energy efficient algae cultivation system for cold-weather climates
Sebastian Pecaj, Summer 2024
Project: Low-cost, energy efficient algae cultivation system for cold-weather climates
Madison Butchko, Fall 2024
Project: Developing a PINN (Physics-informed neural network) to model a pendulum forcing problem
Adam Borodzicz, Fall 2024
Project: Design, construction, and testing of a wind tunnel airfoil with dynamic shape adjustment
Antonyo Yonan, Fall 2024
Project: Design, construction, and testing of a wind tunnel airfoil with dynamic shape adjustment
Jalen Thwany, Fall 2024
Project: Design, construction, and testing of a wind tunnel airfoil with dynamic shape adjustment
Karam Matti, Fall 2024
Project: Design, construction, and testing of a wind tunnel airfoil with dynamic shape adjustment
Morgan Decroix, Fall 2024
Project: Design, construction, and testing of a wind tunnel airfoil with dynamic shape adjustment
Patrick Francis, Fall 2024
Project: Design, construction, and testing of a wind tunnel airfoil with dynamic shape adjustment
Reid Michener, Summer 2025
Project: Hydrodynamic scaling of algae cultivation
High School Students
Mason Knaup, Summer 2023
Project: Using computer vision to quantify microalgae growth
Eli Knaup, Summer 2023
Project: Using computer vision to quantify microalgae growth