Skip to main content
Jennifer Franck
September 13, 2024

Jennifer Franck earns tenure and promotion to associate professor

Written By: Caitlin Scott

Departments:

Categories:

In recognition of her outstanding research, teaching, and mentoring, Jennifer Franck, PhD, has earned tenure and been promoted to an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Jennifer Franck joined the College of Engineering in fall 2018 and leads the UW-Madison Computational Flow Physics and Modeling Lab. Her research is in modeling and discovering new physics within unsteady fluid mechanics using simulations and computational tools. Some examples of her achievements include applications to Aerodynamics and Marine Renewable Energy:

  • Aerodynamics: Modeling of passive flow control techniques for gust mitigation on light-weight aircraft (funded by AFOSR)
  • Marine Energy: Simulations of cross-flow turbines in stacked arrays that can be deployed in tidal and river channels (joint work with University of Washington under ARPAE SHARKS program)
  • Marine Energy:  Physics of oscillating foil turbines for energy harvesting, incorporating reinforcement learning (machine learning) for synergistic cooperation (NSF CAREER)

In fall 2024, Franck is teaching a new freshman course, EMA 200: Intro to Mechanics and Aerospace. She explains that this new course is for Engineering Mechanics + Aerospace (EM/A) majors, and will generate a cohort of EMA engineers and improve the sense of community within the major. It will expose them to faculty, alumni, and current students through hands-on projects, and develop skills to help them succeed over the next 4 years. Franck is a trusted leader and strong advocate of the EMA educational programs, continually looking at ways to engage students in aerospace engineering and developing the program.

To pull directly from her tenure dossier, Franck is a consummate faculty member with exceptional research productivity, impactful applications of her work, and a compelling record of teaching and mentoring. She is well on her way toward a sustained, productive career as a faculty member at UW-Madison. We are excited to watch her continue to flourish!