Dr Alex Stubbs


Job: Research Fellow


Employer: University College London


PhD Thesis: The Physical and Numerical Representation of Turbulent Flow over a Porous Riverbed


PhD Supervisors: Dr Michaela Bray and Professor Shunqi Pan


Biography

Alex is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at University College London (UCL) within the Fluid Mechanics research group hosted by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE). His role has involved the conceptual, experimental, and numerical research into topics such as vertical axis turbines, solar thermal energy recovery, the transport of air around buses in relation to COVID-19 mitigations, secondary currents over bars, and riverine flows. More recently, his research has evolved to become focused on commercial decarbonisation innovations within the transport sector.

Alex’s PhD, completed at Cardiff University in 2021 through the EPSRC WISE CDT programme, focused on using Large-Eddy Simulation to simulate highly turbulent near-bed flows above porous gravel riverbeds. This research included the development of tools to allow complex 3-dimensional bodies to be represented in nodal form suitable for use with Immersed Boundary Methodology such as that applied within the in-house LES code Hydro3D.

Additionally, Alex has also worked in various roles for large civil engineering companies including Jacobs, Network Rail, and Stantec and has undertaken a 4-month research placement in New Zealand collaborating with Aqualinc Research Ltd and the University of Canterbury. Alex is currently also the director and co-owner of a small engineering company. During his undergraduate degree he was also finance and logistics co-ordinator for a 12-month joint charitable project between Mothers of Africa and Cardiff University to install solar panels at a health post in rural Zambia. This project culminated in two-weeks onsite in Zambia installing the off-grid system.

Aside from his career in academia and engineering, Alex has also had a long career in swimming starting with national level competition, developing as a swimming teacher over 10 years in both public and private sectors, and culminating in the management of the swim school at Guildford Spectrum, the UK’s No. 1 Leisure Complex. Alex has also worked in retail and performed various self-employed roles from gardener to academic proof-reader alongside his dual engineering and swimming careers.

Alex brings a far-reaching interdisciplinary skillset and wide-ranging experience to every role allowing him to learn fast, adapt to change, and offer insights and context that further project, team, and company goals.