Title: Assistant Professor of Geosciences and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS)

Position(s): Faculty, Department of Geosciences and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS), Affiliated Faculty of the Program in Statistics and Machine Learning (SML). Associated Faculty of the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI).

Group: The Lai Research Group

Area(s): Climate Science, Geophysics

Research Summary:   Lai obtained her Ph.D. (2018) in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and received her B.Sc. (2013) in physics from National Taiwan University.  Lai uses idealized mathematical models, laboratory experiments, machine learning, and simulations to explore the rich physics governing the interplay between fluid flows, deformable structures, cracks, and interfacial flows, with applications in geophysics and climate science. In particular, her recent work combines deep-learning and physics-based models to predict the disintegration of ice shelves in a warming climate.

Keywords: ice sheets, fluid dynamics, machine learning, sea-level rise, climate, fluid-structure interactions, soft matter

ORCID: 0000-0002-6552-7546