John P McHugh
Associate Professor
Applied Math Program
Mechanical Engineering Department
University of New Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire 03824

 

Contact information

Phone: (603) 862-1899
Fax: (603) 862-1865
Email: john.mchugh@unh.edu

Education

PhD, Applied Mechanics, Michigan, 1986
MS, Applied Mechanics, Michigan, 1981
BS, Ocean Engineering, Michigan, 1978

Research Interests

My professional interests are primarily in Mathematical Fluid Dynamics. This work is motivated by the demands for alternative energy, by the concerns over climate change, the need for improved weather prediction and airplane safety, and other issues. Much of my current work is related atmospheric flow, such as flow past wind turbine farms and waves at the tropopause, but I also have strong interest in free surface flow, oceanic phenomena, and other geophysical issues such as heat transfer in magma chambers and plasma flow around the Earth. I have further interests in nonlinear elasticity, solidification of thin films, and topics that come more from industry. My mathematical approach may be an asymptotic method, numerical simulation, and even a general proof. My graduate students take graduate courses in a variety of departments, including physics, math, and engineering. I try hard to ignore departmental boundaries and other restrictions. I also enjoy laboratory experiments and field observations, although I almost never have time to work in a lab or go out in the field myself.

Currently my favorite topics are nonlinear internal waves, coherent structures in the atmosphere, symmetry-breaking in surface driven flow, and mesoscale oceanic vortices. I am always looking for good graduate students, and interested people will find more information by selecting the `prospective students' button below. Then email me to express an interest. I am especially looking for students with an interest in our new Applied Math Ph.D. program. Select the Applied Math button below to see what that's all about.

Some Recent Publications

J. McHugh, "Nonlinear internal waves in an unbounded layer," in press, Applied Math Letters, 2011.

I. Dors, J. McHugh, G. Y. Jumper, J. Roadcap, "Velocity spectra and turbulence using direct-detection lidar,
and comparison with thermosonde measurements,'' Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, 2011.

I. N. Panayotova and J. P. McHugh, ``On the stability of three-dimensional disturbances in stratified flow with lateral
and vertical shear,'' The Open Atmospheric Science Journal, 5, pp. 23-26, 2011.

D. P. Barkey and J. P. McHugh, ``Pattern Formation in Anodic Aluminum Oxide Growth by Flow Instability and
Dynamic Re-Stabilization,'' Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 157, pp. C388-C391, 2010.

D. P. Barkey and J. P. McHugh, ``Pattern Formation in Anodic Aluminum Oxide Growth by Flow Instability and
Dynamic Re-Stabilization,'' The ECS Transactions, 2010.

J. McHugh, "Progressive internal waves of permanent form," SIAM Applied Math, 70, pp.1017-1031, 2009.

J. McHugh, "Internal waves at an interface between two layers of differing stability," Journal of Atmospheric Science, 66, 2009.

 

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