The Peter O’Donnell Jr. Postdoctoral Research Fellows: 2024-2025

Three outstanding researchers will join the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences as Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Postdoctoral Research (O’Donnell) fellows for the academic year 2024 - 2025. 

Established in 2001, the O’Donnell Fellowship Program supports recent Ph.D. graduates in fields such as computer science, material science, mathematics, physics, and engineering disciplines to engage in interdisciplinary research with world-renowned Oden Institute faculty at The University of Texas at Austin. Meet this year’s accomplished cohort of O’Donnell Postdoc Fellows below.

Christina Taylor

After recently finishing her Ph.D. as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in Computational and Applied Mathematic at Rice University, Christina Taylor is excited to join the Oden Institute to “work on meaningful projects at the intersection of her areas of expertise: engineering, mathematics, and computing.” 

Taylor’s thesis focused on energy and entropy stable DG methods for hyperbolic PDEs on cut meshes. She will be working with Clint Dawson, core faculty at the Oden Institute, on applying cut mesh methods to flood simulations for tracking dry regions/wet-dry interfaces and capturing complicated bathymetry. Dawson is Department Chair at Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics and director of the Computational Hydraulics Group at the Oden Institute.

Having been in Houston the last five years to complete her Ph.D., Taylor is “looking forward to being a part of the Institute's interdisciplinary community and is especially excited for the opportunity to make new connections and pursue new research ideas.” 

During her free time, Taylor enjoys drawing and crafts, and is very excited to explore the outdoor cycling opportunities that Austin has to offer.

Daniel JB Smith

Daniel JB Smith joins the Oden Institute after completing his previous postdoctoral training at the University of Arizona. Smith holds a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Chicago. His thesis focused on developing models and simulations to discover how density-dependent interactions and specialized predation impact species coexistence. 

As an O’Donnell fellow, Smith will be working with Annette Ostling, associate professor of integrative biology, and Brian Sedio, assistant professor of integrative biology “to elucidate the importance of specialized pathogens and habitat specialization in maintaining biodiversity on latitudinal and environmental gradients.” Smith is excited to leverage the computation power provided by TACC to advance his research. 

“During my Ph.D. studies, I worked on topics very similar to those of Dr. Ostling. Collaborating is therefore a natural fit,” Smith said. Ostling is a core faculty member at the Oden Institute.

Having never been in Texas for more than three days, Smith is excited to explore the infamous Sixth Street and the outdoor running tracks around the city. 

Dhruv Apte

After completing his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech, Dhruv Apte will join the Computational Research in Ice and Ocean Systems Group (CRIOS), led by Oden Institute core faculty Patrick Heimbach, and professor with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Apte’s thesis focused on simulating cloud cavitation flows with turbulence modeling techniques. He is looking forward to continuing his work in multi-phase flow modeling by developing a machine learning model as a learned correction for MITgcm, a general circulation model to tackle climate modeling. 

“Climate modeling motivated me not just as a challenging multi-phase flow problem but also because of its profound global impact,” Apte said, “the Earth continues to signal urgency of addressing global warming and irreversible climate change.”

At the Oden Institute, Apte hopes to “expand his research focus by networking and collaborating with fellow postdocs, faculty and grad students.”

Outside of his research, Apte enjoys cooking, dancing, watching football, and writing French poetry. Living in Texas for the first time, he is excited to explore the vibrant city of Austin. 

The Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Postdoctoral Fellowship is open to candidates who have been awarded their Ph.D. within the last two years. The program is now accepting applications for the next academic year:  Sept. 1, 2025 - Aug. 31, 2026. The deadline to apply is Dec. 1, 2024. For more information follow this link.