Luciano Castillo

Luciano Castillo

Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems

School of Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University
585 Purdue Mall
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2088
lcastillo@purdue.edu

Office: KEPNER

Phone: (765) 494-8607

Research Interests

  • Modeling, Experiments and Simulations of turbulent boundary layers: role of initial conditions and bio-inspired micro-surfaces on evolution of velocity/thermal fields.
  • Importance of turbulence and complex topography on wind energy.
  • Integration of renewable with water and thermal storage.
  • Translational research focus on renewable energy & society
  • Wall interaction (e.g., bio-inspired micro surfaces) in respiratory flows
  • Big data in turbulence, renewable energy and biomedical engineering.
  • Energy and social equality

Fundamental Research Area(s)

Application Area(s)

Awards and Recognitions

  • Alumni Distinguished Career Award, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, 2023
  • College of Engineering Dean H. T. Yang Faculty Excellence Award for Leadership in Service, (2022)
  • Member of the Engineering Advisory Council. Purdue College of Engineering, (2022)
  • National Academy of Engineering of Mexico, Foreign Corresponding Member, (2020)
  • Dean's Faculty Fellow for Hispanic/Latino Engagement, (2019)
  • Fellow, American Physical Society, (2019)
  • Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineering, (2013)
  • Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge 2.0 Finalist, The Energy Corridor Along the US/Mexico Border: Changing the Conversation. Purdue University, IN (2019).
  • IEEE Best Paper Award, (2016)
  • ASME McDonald Award, (2016)
  • Journal of Renewable Energy Best Paper Award, (2015)
  • Rensselaer Trustee Faculty Award, (2005, 2008)
  • NASA Summer Faculty Fellowship, (2001, 2002)
  • ASME: Robert T. Knapp Award, Best Paper Award, (2002)
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2002)

Selected Publications

Occupant-Centric Robotic Air Filtration and Planning for Classrooms for Safer School Reopening Amid Respiratory Pandemics. Yang, H., Balakuntala, M. V., Kaur, U., Quin ̃ones, J. J., Moser, A. E., Doosttalab, A., Esquivel-Puentes, A., Purwar, T., Castillo, L., Mahmoudian, N., Ma, X., Voyles, R. M., Journal of Robotics and Autonomous Systems Elsevier, 147, 103919, (2021).

A Framework for Blue Energy Enabled Energy Storage in Reverse Osmosis Processes. Rao, A., Li, O., Wrede, L., Coan, S., Elias, G., Cordoba, S., Roggenberg, M., Castillo, L. Desalination, 511, 115088 (2021).

Mangrove Roots Models Suggest an Optimal Porosity to Prevent Erosion. Kazemi, A., Curet, O. and Castillo, L. Scientific Reports-Nature, Volume 11, Article number: 9969 (2021).

Combatting Water Scarcity and Socio-Economic Distress Along the US-Mexico Border Using Renewable Powered Desalination. Roggenburg, M., Warsinger, D., Bocanegra-Evans, H. and Castillo, L., Applied Energy, 291 (2021) 116765 (2021).

Castillo, L., A Bold Proposal for Easing the Venezuela-Colombia Migrant Crisis. Scientific American, February 17, (2020).

Gutierrez, W., Ruiz-Columbie, A., Tutkun, M. & Castillo, L., The Structural Response of a Wind Turbine under Operating Conditions with a Low-Level Jet. Renewable Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 108, July 2019, Pages 380-391, (2019). Review Article.

Bocanegra Evans, H., Hamed, A.M., Gorumlu, S., Doosttalab, A., Aksak, B., Chamorro, L.P. and Castillo, L., Large-scale Flow Modulation by a Micro-scale Surface Coating in a Turbulent Flow. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1715567115, Volume 115, Number 6, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), (2018).

Castillo, L., Gutierrez, W. and Gore, J., Renewable Energy Saves Water and Creates Jobs, Scientific American, August 7, (2018).

Castillo, L. and Gutierrez, W., Non-renewable Energy's other Environmental Problem: Water Waste. Axios, December 21, (2018).

Montoya Segnini, J., Bocanegra Evans, H., Castillo, L., Flow Recirculationin Cartilaginous Ring Cavities of Human Trachea Model. (2018). Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, 31(6), 331-338.

Chowdhury, S., Zhang, J., Messac, A. and Castillo, L., Unrestricted Wind Farm Layout Optimization (UWFLO): Investigating Key Factors Influencing the Maximum Power Generation, Renewable Energy, vol. 38, pp. 16-30, (2012). Best Paper Award.

Bocanegra, H., Gorumlu, S., Aksak, B., Sheng, S. and Castillo, L., Holographic Mi-croscopy and Microfluidics Platform for Measuring Wall Stress and 3D Flow Over Surfaces Textured by Micro-pillars. Scientific Reports- Nature, 6, Article number: 28753 (2016).

Castillo, L., Wang, X. and George, W. K.,Separation Criterion for Turbulent Boundary Layers Via Similarity Analysis. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 126, Issue 3, pp. 197-204, (2004). Robert T. Knapp Best Paper Award.

Experimental Study of the Horizontally Averaged Flow Structure in a Model Wind-turbine Array Boundary Layer. Cal, R.B., Lebron, J., Castillo, L., Kang. H.S. and Meneveau, C., Journal of Sustainability and Sustainable Energy, 2, 013106, (2010). One of the most cited articles in the journal.

Doosttalab, A., Araya, G., Newman, J., Adrian, R. and Castillo, L. Effect of Small Roughness Elements on Thermal Statistics of Turbulent Boundary Layer at Moderate Reynolds Number. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 787, pp. 84115. (2015).

Araya, G., Castillo, L. and Hussain, F., The Log Behaviour of the Reynolds Shear Stress in Accelerating Turbulent Boundary Layers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 775, pp. 189-200, (2015).