Luciano Castillo

Luciano Castillo
File:Luciano Castillo Headshot.jpg
Born	(1965-12-06) 6 December 1965
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	State University of New York at Buffalo
Scientific career
Fields	Physics Engineering Energy
Institutions	Purdue University Texas Tech University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Johns Hopkins University State University of New York Indiana Institute of Technology
Thesis	Similarity Analysis of Turbulent Boundary Layers  (1997)
Doctoral advisor	William K. George

Luciano Castillo (born December 6, 1965) is a fluid dynamicist, entrepreneur, visionary, and triathlete. He is known for his research in theoretical and experimental fluid dynamics. He has been widely recognized for his work in wind energy and his visionary scientific solution to the intertwined problems of climate change, economic disparity, and political conflict along the much-deliberated U.S. and Mexico border. He is currently the Kenninger Chair Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Education

Luciano Castillo started his career at University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in the Mathematics department and transferred to the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY) where he earned his bachelor's degree (1990) and doctorate (1997) in Mechanical engineering.

Career

In 1999, he joined the faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York as an assistant professor. He became a full professor as Distinguished Engineering Chair in Wind Energy at Texas Tech University in 2011. In 2011, he was appointed as the President/Executive Director of National Wind Resource Center, Lubbock, Texas. He was appointed as Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy & Power Systems, at Purdue University in 2017. He became Dean’s Faculty Fellow for Hispanic/Latino Engagement, College of Engineering, Purdue University in 2019.

Dr. Castillo is internationally recognized for developing bold, scientifically informed solutions to massive and complex social, environmental, and economic challenges related to renewable energy, mass migration, climate change, and social inequality – with an emphasis on mentorship, diversity, and inclusion. The renowned American Mathematician, Dr. Richard A. Tapia quoted, "In my view, the best way to create opportunities for others is by being a Trailblazer in Science, and Prof. Castillo is exactly that." His past research has focused on turbulence, the single remaining challenge in classical physics, and its implementation in wind energy. Castillo uses his knowledge in scaling analysis and asymptotic methods to bring unique solutions to society’s challenges, and in 2020 was inducted as a Foreign Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico for demonstrating the importance of turbulence on energy entrainment of wind farms. His analytical work on Strong Adverse Pressure Gradients was awarded the Best Paper Award at ASME in 2002, where he won the Robert T. Knapp Award. This work led to an election to the rank of Fellow of ASME, and Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Astronautic and Aeronautics. For his research on turbulence & wind energy he received the Rensselaer Trustee Faculty Award at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an invited lecture at the American Physical Society, “On Fake Walls Along the USA/Mexico and the Energy Corridor”.

Dr. Castillo proposed a gallant solution to the border problem that currently afflicts a growing population in the USA, Mexico, and Latin America. Instead of an inert wall as proposed by the previous administration, Castillo built a consortium of some of the best institutions and scientists in both countries to bring energy and water to the U.S./Mexico border. At the heart of this proposal is the largest technological park ever built, providing individuals, families, and businesses unique opportunities for a better quality of life and economic prosperity. His work was spotlighted in over 60 magazines and newspapers, including Scientific American, the Washington Post, the Atlantic , ASEE Magazine, podcasts, radio interviews including The Michael Smerconish Program, and TV appearances—enhancing Purdue’s global visibility. In 2019, an important article on the USA-Mexico project in Scientific American, “ Bold Plan? Replace the Border Wall with an Energy-Water Corridor ” was published based on his vision. In 2019, his work in the USA-Mexico energy corridor was a finalist in the Big Idea 2.0 Challenge at Purdue University, and showcase for a major fund-raising campaign at Purdue. In Colombia, with Dean Chiang’s delegation , Castillo came up with a new bold vision for addressing mass migration in Venezuela. He published his second article in Scientific American, “A Bold Proposal for Easing the Venezuela-Colombia Migrant Crisis” addressing the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. In this article, Castillo proposed bringing renewable energy to the region for water desalination and develop precision agriculture to promote jobs for migrants and locals from Colombia. He initiated partnerships with universities in Colombia, including the Former Minister of Energy, Hon. Amilkar Acosta Medina. This proposal drew upon his earlier published articles in Scientific American, “Renewable Energy Saves Water and Creates Jobs” and Axios, “Non-renewable energy’s other environmental problem: water waste” , on how near 50% of water use in the USA is for the production of electricity and how renewables can save water, create jobs and help mitigate climate change.

Castillo has always strived to create unique experiential learning opportunities for his students in all his courses by focusing on teamwork, social problems, innovation, and fundamental physics. He received several accolades and international awards like the Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award at RPI, the ASME McDonald Mentoring Award, the Faculty Award from C-Prep (an African American Christian K-12 School in Fort Wayne, IN) for his impact in teaching & inspiring minority students.

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Castillo formed a COVID consortium with the best scientists from the renowned universities in USA (Purdue- Lead, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, University of Puerto Rico, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York Institute of Technology, Texas Tech), Mexico (Universidad Autonoma of Mexico) and China, as well as industries such as INTEL, to understand how the virus spreads across large rooms and surfaces. The team led by Dr. Castillo was responsible for 6 Purdue patents submitted to the USA Patent Office including a novel mask , COVID-Robot and a new COVID sensor. The Consortium also developed a unique course, Vertical Integrated Project with K-12 students, undergraduates, graduate students, and Purdue alumni. Dr. Castillo was elected as Associate Guest Editor on the Nanomedicine Journal to focus on engineering and COVID-19.

Honors and awards (selected)

• Foreign Corresponding Member, National Academy of Engineering of Mexico (2020).
• Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) (2020).
• C-Prep Faculty Award, Fort Wayne, IN (2020).
• Fellow American Physical Society (APS), (2019).
• Fellow American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), (2013).
• Finalist Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge 2.0, "The Energy Corridor Along the US/Mexico Border: Changing the Conversation", Purdue University, IN (2019).
• ASME McDonald Mentoring Award , (2016).
• ASME Robert T. Knapp Award , Best Paper Award, (2002)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2002).
• NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (2021) (nomination).
• Endowed Professorship: Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy & Power Systems , Purdue University (2017-present).
• Dean’s Faculty Fellow, Purdue University, (2019-present).
• Endowed Professorship: Don-Kay-Clay Cash Distinguished Engineering Chair in Wind Energy, Texas Tech University (2011-2017).
• GLEAMM Technology Commercialization Award, Technology Development (2017).
• IEEE Best Paper Award (2016).
• Renewable Energy Best Paper Award (2015).
• Rensselaer Trustee Faculty Award (2005, 2008).
• NASA Summer Faculty Fellowship (2001, 2002).
• Best Poster Award: GLEAMM Innovation Poster Showcase, Texas Tech University (2017).
• External Reviewer Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Program, University of Illinois, Chicago.

Selected publications

• George, William K.; Castillo, Luciano (1997). "Zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer". Applied Mechanics Reviews. 50: 689–729. doi:10.1115/1.3101858.
• Cal, Raúl Bayoán; Lebrón, José; Castillo, Luciano; Kang, Hyung Suk; Meneveau, Charles (2010). "Experimental study of the horizontally averaged flow structure in a model wind-turbine array boundary layer". Journal of renewable and sustainable energy. 2. doi:10.1063/1.3289735.
• Castillo, Luciano; George, William K. (2001). "Similarity analysis for turbulent boundary layer with pressure gradient: outer flow". AIAA Journal. 39: 41–47. doi:10.2514/2.1300.
• Castillo, Luciano; T. Gunnar, Johansson (2002). "The effects of the upstream conditions on a low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer with zero pressure gradient". Journal of Turbulence. 3. doi:10.1088/1468-5248/3/1/031.
• Evans, Humberto Bocanegra; M. Hamed, Ali; Gorumlu, Serdar; Doosttalab, Ali; Aksak, Burak; P. Chamorro, Leonardo; Castillo, Luciano (2018). "Engineered bio-inspired coating for passive flow control". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 6: 1210–1214. doi:10.1073/pnas.1715567115.
• Evans, Humberto Bocanegra; Gorumlu, Serdar; Aksak, Burak; Castillo, Luciano (2016). "Holographic microscopy and microfluidics platform for measuring wall stress and 3D flow over surfaces textured by micro-pillars". Scientific reports. 6: 1–12. doi:10.1038/srep28753.