Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Biography
Download the CV from here.
Current Research Interests
VOILAb: Vortex Interaction Laboratory
Our research is in fluid mechanics and our focus is on those conditions where the forces on a body immersed in a fluid are due to the formation of vortical flow structures. This often occurs in nature, where natural evolution has led to optimal solutions for complex problems. Hence, we seek inspiration from the fluid mechanics of plants and animals to develop new technology. Vortices, for instance, are exploited by natural flyers to fly stably and efficiently in the turbulent wind. Similarly, the forces on very thin surfaces, such as the wings of small drones and the sails of a yacht, are dominated by vortex flow. Our research aims to understand and, when possible control, the formation, stability and interaction of these vortices in order to improve performance, efficiency and survivability of different engineering systems.
Visit our Laboratory webpage: https://VOILAb.eng.ed.ac.uk
Teaching
- Fluid Mechanics
- Marine Energy
- Naval Architecture
Websites
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Experimental and numerical aerodynamics of sailing yachts, Politecnico di Milano
Award Date: 2 Oct 2008
Master of Engineering, Università degli studi di Genova
Award Date: 26 Apr 2001
External positions
Distinguished Visiting Professor, Tsinghua University, China
Adjunct Professor, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy
Fingerprint
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion
Cummins, C., Seale, M., Macente, A., Certini, D., Mastropaolo, E., Viola, I. M. & Nakayama, N., 18 Oct 2018, In: Nature. 562, p. 414-418 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The force generation mechanism of lifting surfaces with flow separation ✩
Viola, I. M., Arredondo-galeana, A. & Pisetta, G., 1 Nov 2021, In: Ocean Engineering. 239, p. 109749 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Unsteady lift on a high-amplitude pitching aerofoil
Otomo, S., Henne, S., Mulleners, K., Ramesh, K. & Viola, I. M., 23 Dec 2021, In: Experiments in fluids. 62, 6.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The scales of the leading-edge separation bubble
Smith, J., Pisetta, G. & Viola, I. M., 2 Apr 2021, In: Physics of Fluids. 10 p., 045101.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Porous plates at incidence
Bose, C., Bruce, C. & Viola, I. M., Apr 2025, In: Theoretical and computational fluid dynamics. 39, 2, 19.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
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DANDIDRONE: A Dandelion-Inspired Drone for Swarm Sensing
Viola, I. M. (Principal Investigator)
1/08/21 → 31/07/26
Project: Research
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Morphing-Blades: New-Concept Turbine Blades for Unsteady Load Mitigation Principal
Viola, I. M. (Principal Investigator) & McCarthy, E. (Co-investigator)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
1/07/21 → 31/08/25
Project: Research
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Quantifying Exhaled Aerosolised Respiratory Virus In Acutely Hospitalised Patients
Walsh, T. (Principal Investigator), Arvind, D. K. (Co-investigator), Digard, P. (Co-investigator) & Viola, I. M. (Co-investigator)
1/09/24 → 31/08/26
Project: Research
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Flexible trailing edges for tidal and wind turbines PHASE 2
Viola, I. M. (Principal Investigator)
2/04/24 → 1/08/25
Project: Research
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The Resistance of Ships with Multiscale Roughness
Viola, I. M. (Principal Investigator)
1/10/22 → 30/09/26
Project: Research
Datasets
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Face Coverings, Aerosol Dispersion and Mitigation of Virus Transmission Risk. Dataset 1: videos, images and spirometry results
Peterson, B. (Creator), Pisetta, G. (Creator), Pavar, G. (Creator), Akhtar, H. (Creator), Menoloascina, F. (Creator), Mangano, E. (Creator), Nila, A. (Creator), Molinari, E. (Creator), McDougall, C. (Creator), Denison, F. (Creator), Dunn, K. (Creator), Gabl, R. (Creator), Digard, P. (Creator), Dunn, M. (Creator), Lo, T. Y. M. (Creator), Mehendale, F. (Creator), Cummins, C. (Creator) & Viola, I. M. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 19 May 2020
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2826
Dataset
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Face coverings and respiratory tract droplet dispersion
Bandiera, L. (Creator), Pavar, G. (Creator), Pisetta, G. (Creator), Otomo, S. (Creator), Mangano, E. (Creator), Seckl, J. (Creator), Digard, P. (Creator), Molinari, E. (Creator), Menolascina, F. (Creator) & Viola, I. M. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 11 Aug 2020
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2897, https://datashare.is.ed.ac.uk/handle/10283/3729
Dataset
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Data set for Power and thrust control by passive pitch for tidal turbines
Young, A. (Creator), McCarthy, E. (Creator), Viola, I. M. (Creator), Broglia, R. (Creator), Gambuzza, S. (Creator), Sunil, P. (Creator) & Felli, M. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 19 Nov 2024
DOI: 10.7488/ds/7842
Dataset
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PIV dataset for 'The leading-edge vortex of yacht sails' (OE, Arredondo-Galeana and Viola, 2018, Fig. 9, 10, 11, 12)
Viola, I. M. (Creator) & Arredondo galeana, A. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 28 Mar 2018
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2328
Dataset
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Porous plates at incidence: Dataset
Viola, I. M. (Creator), Bruce, C. (Creator) & Bose, C. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 10 Aug 2025
DOI: 10.7488/ds/7872
Dataset
Press/Media
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A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion
17/10/18
10 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Face coverings can reduce Covid-19 transmission risk, study says
1/05/20 → 21/05/20
5 items of Media coverage, 10 Media contributions
Press/Media: Research
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Swifts’ wing shape helps them fly through violent storms, finds Ignazio Maria Viola (Engineering)
23/08/17 → 28/08/17
3 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Conditions Simulator Gives Sailors a Competitive Edge
4/07/12
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research