Jeff Oishi Headshot

Jeff Oishi

Associate Chair, Mechanical Engineering
Associate Professor
Phone: (603) 862-4898
Office: Kingsbury Hall, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Pronouns: He/Him/His

I lead the UNH Complicated Fluids group. We are interested in the basic physics of a wide array of fluid problems, including biophysical and geophysical flows. As the name implies, we solve complicated fluid dynamics: problems involving turbulence, phase changes, magnetic fields, traditional "complex" non-Newtonian fluids, or various combinations of them. 
In order to tackle this menagerie of problems, we contribute to and use the Dedalus Project, a flexible framework for solving partial differential equations. 
Prof. Oishi is one of the founders and core developers of Dedalus, and the other developers regularly visit and collaborate with our group.

Courses Taught

  • INCO 590: Student Research Experience
  • ME 503: Thermodynamics
  • ME 795/895: Special Topics

Education

  • Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Virginia

Selected Publications

  • O’Connor, L., Lecoanet, D., Vasil, G. M., Augustson, K. C., Daniel, F., Anders, E. H., . . . Brown, B. P. (2026). Unsteady Taylor-vortex dynamo is fast. Physical Review Research, 8(2). doi:10.1103/62yn-rdmn

  • Fraser, A. E., Kaminski, A. K., & Oishi, J. S. (2026). Nonmodal growth and optimal perturbations in magnetohydrodynamic shear flows. Physical Review E, 113(4). doi:10.1103/vsm7-1zj4

  • Vasil, G. M., Burns, K. J., Lecoanet, D., Oishi, J. S., Brown, B., & Julien, K. (2025). Rapidly rotating wall-mode convection. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1017. doi:10.1017/jfm.2025.10449

  • Oishi, J. S., & Brown, B. P. (2025). On the linear stability of partially and fully saturated atmospheres to moist convection. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1007. doi:10.1017/jfm.2025.125

  • Saxton, C. J., Marston, J. B., Oishi, J. S., & Tobias, S. M. (2024). Ordering of time scales predicts applicability of quasilinear theory in unstable flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 998. doi:10.1017/jfm.2024.810

  • Vasil, G. M., Lecoanet, D., Augustson, K., Burns, K. J., Oishi, J. S., Brown, B. P., . . . Julien, K. (2024). The solar dynamo begins near the surface.. Nature, 629(8013), 769-772. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07315-1

  • Oishi, J. S., & Baxter, M. (2023). Generalized quasi-linear approximation and non-normality in Taylor-Couette spiral turbulence.. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci, 381(2243), 20220122. doi:10.1098/rsta.2022.0122

  • Oishi, J. S., Vasil, G. M., Baxter, M., Swan, A., Burns, K. J., Lecoanet, D., & Brown, B. P. (2020). The magnetorotational instability prefers three dimensions.. Proc Math Phys Eng Sci, 476(2233), 20190622. doi:10.1098/rspa.2019.0622

  • Pearce, P., Song, B., Skinner, D. J., Mok, R., Hartmann, R., Singh, P. K., . . . Dunkel, J. (2019). Flow-Induced Symmetry Breaking in Growing Bacterial Biofilms.. Phys Rev Lett, 123(25), 258101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.258101

  • Johansen, A., Oishi, J. S., Mac Low, M. -M., Klahr, H., Henning, T., & Youdin, A. (2007). Rapid planetesimal formation in turbulent circumstellar disks.. Nature, 448(7157), 1022-1025. doi:10.1038/nature06086

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  • Most Cited Publications