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Gerassimos Orkoulas, PhD

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Affiliated Programs

Education

  • PhD, Chemical Engineering (1998)
    Cornell University (NY)
  • BS, Chemical Engineering (1989)
    University of Patras (Greece)

About Me

I strongly believe that students should mediate between science as taught in universities and its uses in everyday life. They should not only gain a fundamental understanding of the course material, but more importantly, they should also be able to apply the new knowledge to practical, real-world problems.

To this aim, my teaching has focused on practical applications of taught theories to allow the students to obtain and apply the necessary problem-solving skills that can be used throughout their entire careers. Seen from this point of view, my teaching is an ongoing attempt to allow students to discover and reflect on their potential and constantly improve themselves.

I have mentored seven doctoral students and five undergraduate students in research projects. Furthermore, I have been awarded three highly competitive research grants ($1,000,000 by the National Science Foundation (NSF), $150,000 in research fellowships, and $170,000 in equipment).

Research Interests

My research interests are in the area of mathematical modeling, simulation, optimization, and control of multiscale physico-chemical process systems and in the area of thermodynamic modeling and molecular simulation (Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics and kinetic Monte Carlo) of complex fluids.

My specific research areas include: modeling and simulation of multiscale process systems Detailed process description using conservation laws and stochastic model construction Parameter estimation from microscopic/mesoscopic simulations; model-based control and optimization of multiscale process systems Model reduction, coarse-graining, and predictive control of distributed parameter systems Dynamic optimization over multiple length scales; molecular simulation of complex fluids Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, and kinetic Monte Carlo methods Development and optimization techniques for parallel codes using domain decomposition.

Publications

  • Nayhouse, M., Ankur M. Amlani, and Gerassimos Orkoulas. A Monte Carlo Study of the Freezing Transition of Hard Spheres. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 23, no. 32 (2011): 325106–325115.
  • Heng, Vincent R., Michael Nayhouse, Marquis Crose, Anh Tran, and Gerassimos Orkoulas. "Communication: Direct Determination of Triple-Point Coexistence Through Cell Model Simulation. Journal of Chemical Physics 137, no. 14 (2012): 141101-1–141101-4.
  • Kwon, Joseph Sang-II, Michael Nayhouse, Panagiotis D. Christo des, and Gerassimos Orkoulas. Modeling and Control of Shape Distribution of Protein Crystal Aggregates. Chemical Engineering Science 104, no. 18 (2013): 484–497.

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Physical Society (APS)

Awards

  • Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award, UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science (2008)
  • AIChE Student Chapter Distinguished Teacher Award, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (2013, 2012, 2005, 2004)
  • Top 20 Most Downloaded Article, Journal of Chemical Physics, September 2010 and May 2011; IOP Select Article by the Institute of Physics.

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