Dr. J. Iwan Alexander Faculty Director, Great Lakes Energy Institute.
It was under Professor Alexander’s leadership that Case Western Reserve University established the Great Lakes Energy Institute in 2007. In addition to being appointed the Faculty Director for the Institute, he has since been made also the Chairman of the University’s Energy Alliance, reporting to the Provost, which puts him in position to integrate goals and results across Case Western Reserve to further the Institute’s charter for energy innovation.
He is Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and has been the director of the National Center for Space Exploration Research on Fluids and Combustion (NCSER) since 2005. Professor Alexander’s basic and applied research interests have covered a number of topics, including the physics and mechanics of fluid interfaces, computational fluid mechanics, crystal growth and solidification, and energy transport.
For the last fifteen years his research has included theoretical studies, computational simulations, inquiries into applied research, and five space experiments: three involving semi-conductor crystal growth, one in liquid diffusion, and one in acceleration measurement.
Dr. Alexander serves on a number of national committees, is an AIAA associate fellow, has chaired two Gordon Research Conferences, and is internationally recognized for his work on fluid processes. His work has led to a 120 refereed papers.
He received the B.Sc. in Geology and Oceanography at the University of Wales, Swansea, and his Ph.D. at Washington State University, where his dissertation was on the stability of layered fluids.
