Flavio Eduardo da Cruz

Hello!

I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. I have double M.S. - in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering - and prior to joining the Ph.D. program, I worked as Senior Mechanical Engineer in a large consulting firm focused in engineering and technology.

My research aims to systematically search for intensification opportunities – enhancement of intrinsic effects, combination of synergetic processes, novel equipment designs, among others – by using rigorous mathematical approaches, fundamental laws, modeling, and computational simulation to explore a wide range of scales (multiscale-integrated) in which process intensification opportunities can be sought, from molecular, to equipment, to the systems level.

During my Ph.D. I have developed research projects in multi-scale modeling and simulation of thermal-chemical systems, by using transport and reaction principles. In addition, I have developed models to systematically intensify reactive separation processes that guarantee global optimality. The set of skills I have learned includes the development of mathematical models from fundamental principles – mass, momentum, and energy balances; heat-transfer, reaction kinetics, thermodynamic principles, and advanced transport models such as Stefan-Maxwell and Dusty-Gas Model – for multi-scale/multi-phase systems.

I also have industry experience working as senior mechanical engineer for an engineering consulting company, where I coordinated design and construction activities in large-scale industrial projects. I am sure that my background and experience qualifies me to develop strong and effective research projects, as well as to develop and collaborate in cross-functional projects for the thermal/chemical/manufacturing industry.