Prof. Lavi Rizki Zuhal, Ph.D.

Short Biography

Lavi Rizki Zuhal, Ph.D. is a Professor of Aerodynamics at ITB. Currently, he is the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs in the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ITB. Prior to that, he served as the Chairman of the Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering Program.

He received a BS degree (1996) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, MS (1997) and Ph.D. (2001) degrees in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology (CALTECH). Following a postdoctoral year in the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories at CALTECH, he joined the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Institut Teknologi Bandung where he is currently a full-time professor. From 2010 until 2013, he served as the advisor for research policy strategy at the National Innovation Council of the Republic of Indonesia. He is the recipient of the 2016 ITB Award for Excellence in Research.

Prof. Zuhal’s research interest lie at the intersection of fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and computing sciences. The broad theme of his work is to obtain mathematical models for complex systems, using data from simulations or experiments. He has used these models to better understand the underlying physical phenomena and to find the optimum solutions to scientific and engineering problems. In particular, he and his group have developed advanced flow diagnostic system using convolutional neural network for processing particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments and mesh-free computational methods for simulating complex fluid and solid mechanics problems. His research also focuses on the development of robust machine learning models and advanced evolutionary algorithms for Multidisciplinary Design Optimization problems, which can be applied to a whole range of complex real-world problems ranging from engineering to stock portfolios optimization. Some of his recent works can be seen here.