Dr Meissam Bahlali
Role: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
Subject area: Fluid mechanics with the Novel Reservoir and Simulation group (NORMS)
Nationality: French
My current research in the NORMS group at Imperial focuses on the development of mathematical models to study how fluids flow and how materials and fluids are transported beneath the Earth's surface.
Education
GCSE (or equivalent): French General Certificate Secondary Education
A-level (or equivalent): French Baccalaureate, Scientific Section, Speciality: Mathematics
Degrees
• Master of Science in Fluid Mechanics and Energy Science, Grenoble Institute of Technology – ENSE3, France
• PhD in Fluid Mechanics for Atmospheric Sciences, École des Ponts ParisTech, France
Detail about Emma
My research
Applications of my research include modelling the movement of saline water from the oceans or seas to land, which can lead to contamination of freshwater resources with major economic, health and social consequences. I am also working on modelling the movement of copper in sedimentary basins, from the copper source location to its mineral deposit. This is important as copper is key for battery technology and the electricity transmission needed for moving toward a carbon-free energy.
My inspiration
My Fluid Mechanics teacher, Javier Jiménez Fernández. I did a research internship with him as an Erasmus student at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His passion for fluid mechanics and scientific research was very communicative, which encouraged me go on the PhD adventure.
Who is your STEM hero?
Marie Skłodowska Curie, the Polish andnaturalized-French physicist and chemist, who was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity. She was the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize.
Most significant discovery/invention?
The Navier-Stokes equations, which describe the flow of incompressible fluids. These undrpin the study of fluids in a very wide variety of areas, from aerospace engineering to medical research.
Career options after study
- Academic at a university
- Research and Development Engineer in aerospace, energy production, energy storage, transport, pollution regulation (fluid mechanics is almost everywhere!)
- Secondary Mathematics or Physics teacher
My hobbies
Learning foreign languages – I speak French, English, Arabic, Spanish, and a bit of Portuguese and Italian. When I had to choose a university degree, I hesitated but decided to go for Mathematics and Physics instead of languages because I figured I could always learn languages as a hobby!