Abiy Melaku, Postdoctoral Scholar,
Software Developer
The SimCenter Development Team engages post-doctoral scholars to enhance and develop SimCenter software tools. In this article we feature Dr. Abiy Melaku.
Abiy Melaku, Postdoctoral Scholar, Software Developer
Abiy Melaku is advancing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) capabilities in SimCenters WE-UQ and R2D tools for simulating wind loads on buildings at the individual and neighborhood scales. With his expertise in wind and structural engineering, he will implement a high-fidelity fluid-structure interaction capability into the software tools. Collaborating with other software development team members, he will also develop reduced-order and surrogate models for predicting wind loads and responses of buildings with varying parameters, such as the characteristics of the approaching wind, building geometry, and configuration. Dr. Melaku will also get involved in the development of regional models that integrate machine learning and physics-based approaches for assessing the impact of hurricanes on the built environment.
Dr. Melaku completed his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Scientific Computing from the University of Western Ontario. His research focused on computational wind engineering, where he developed and validated a CFD-based framework for evaluating aerodynamic and aeroelastic wind loads on structures. Dr. Melakus research also involved the development of computationally efficient and scalable methods to enhance simulation of wind effects on buildings located in complex urban environments.