Jeff Oishi Headshot

Jeff Oishi

Associate Chair, Mechanical Engineering
Associate Professor
Office: Kingsbury Hall, Durham, NH 03824
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

  • ME 503: Thermodynamics
  • ME 795/895: Special Topics

Education

  • Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Virginia

Selected Publications

  • 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

  • Cresswell, I. G., Anders, E. H., Brown, B. P., Oishi, J. S., & Vasil, G. M. (2023). Force balances in strong-field magnetoconvection simulations. Physical Review Fluids, 8(9). doi:10.1103/physrevfluids.8.093503

  • 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

  • Anders, E. H., Lecoanet, D., Cantiello, M., Burns, K. J., Hyatt, B. A., Kaufman, E., . . . Jermyn, A. S. (2023). The photometric variability of massive stars due to gravity waves excited by core convection.. Nat Astron, 7(10), 1228-1234. doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02040-7

  • 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

  • Lecoanet, D., Le Bars, M., Burns, K. J., Vasil, G. M., Brown, B. P., Quataert, E., & Oishi, J. S. (2015). Numerical simulations of internal wave generation by convection in water.. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys, 91(6), 063016. doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.91.063016

  • 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

  • Most Cited Publications