Welcome!

Fluid mechanics spans diverse fields of science and engineering. I am a fluids enthusiast who aspires to solve real-world problems with developing and utilizing mathematical and computational modeling. In my PhD, I have been investigating multiple fluid flow problems in Earth and planetary sciences. In hydrology, I have been involved with modeling of variably-saturated flow inside heterogeneous soils at large scales. In cryosphere, I am studying firn densification due to melt percolation as a part of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics Graduate Student fellowship and NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Graduate Fellowship. Furthermore, in planetary science am working on infiltration on early Mars with the folks from European Space Agency and have been working on the groundwater on early Mars with Eric Hiatt from Jackson School of Geosciences to investigate the post-impact hydrothermal systems on early Mars. More recently, I am also studying the impact generated melt migration across the ice shell of ocean worlds through second NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Graduate Fellowship. These researches are also supported by my advisor, Dr. Marc Hesse, through NASA Emerging Worlds grant.


Filling of impact-formed crater lake on Mars.
Hiatt, Shadab et al., AGU Fall Meeting (2020)


About me

I am an M.S. and Ph.D. Student in the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, working with Professor Marc Hesse. I am the Co-chair and DEI lead of the US Association of Polar Early Career Scientists and an Executive Board Member of AGU Hydrology Student Subsection Subcommittee (AGU H3S). Previously, I was a Visiting Graduate Student Researcher at the MIT Fluids Laboratory working with Professor Irmgard Bischofberger. I hold an M.Phil. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology where I worked with Professor Kun Xu (2018).

Mohammad Afzal Shadab

  • (2019–) M.S. & Ph.D. Comp Sci, Engg & Math, UT Austin
  • (2018–9) Visiting Student, MIT
  • (2018) M.Phil. Mech Engg, HKUST, Hong Kong
  • (2016) B.Tech. Mech Engg, AMU, India

News

8 April, 2024

Received three certificates from IEEE to finish three courses (9 professional development hours each) on Remote Sensing and ML applications.

26 March, 2024

The preprint of the Unified Kinematic Wave Theory for Melt infiltration into firn is out!

5 March, 2024

Joined the Executive Committee of the AGU Cryosphere Division. Will serve in DEI and Canvassing Subcommittees as an Early Career.

22 February, 2024

Water on ancient Mars work is in the news ( paper). I worked on development of theoretical model (see [1], [2]).

15 February, 2024

Three papers accepted in 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) 2024.

8 February, 2024

Received travel grant of $1,000 from Center for Planetary Systems Habitability to attend LPSC 2024.

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