Research

Multiphase flows, Soft matter engineering, Surface tension phenomena

Biography / Research Interests

Education and experiences:

• 2009 Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics, Johns Hopkins University. Advisor: A. Prosperetti
• 2006 M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
• 2003 Master in Applied Mathematics, U. of Milan - Bicocca 
• 2002 Laurea in Industrial Engineering, U. of Udine 

Research experiences at Imperial College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Twente, and ETH - Zurich. 

Dr. Lorenzo Botto is a Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Materials Science at QM. He teaches modules/courses related to mathematical modelling of transport phenomena, such as "Computational Fluid Mechanics". He is truly passionate about educating people about fluid mechanics, a beautiful subject which however requires strong mathematical skills. If you want to learn about fluids and how they move, visitweb.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf.html where you will find several educational clips produced by the US National Science Foundation; they may be old, but are among the most informative ever filmed.

When he is not doing research, Lorenzo likes to read books, watch cartoons, and explore music avenues in London. He has played the trumpet for several years, and has been part of a Ska/Funk music group during college! He admits that he is kind of a geek.

Publications

Publications of specific relevance to

2018

Santagiuliana G, Picot OT, Crespo M, Porwal H, Zhang H, Li Y, Rubini L, Colonna S, Fina A, Barbieri E, Spoelstra AB, Mirabello G, Patterson JP, Botto L, Pugno NM, Peijs T and Bilotti E (2018). Breaking the Nanoparticle Loading-Dispersion Dichotomy in Polymer Nanocomposites with the Art of Croissant-Making. Acs Nano  10.1021/acsnano.8b02877

MATA A (2018). A fluidic device for the controlled formation and real-time monitoring of soft membranes self-assembled at liquid interfaces. Nature Publishing Group  Scientific Reports  10.1038/s41598-018-20998-7

Zhang G, Quetzeri-Santiago MA, Stone CA, Botto L and Castrejón-Pita JR (2018). Droplet impact dynamics on textiles. Soft Matter  vol. 14, (40) 8182-8190. 10.1039/C8SM01082J

2017

GU C and BOTTO L (2017). Buckling vs. particle desorption in a particle-covered drop subject to compressive surface stresses: a simulation study. Soft Matter  10.1039/c7sm01912b

Zhang G, Parwani R, Stone CA, Barber AH and Botto L (2017). X-ray Imaging of Transplanar Liquid Transport Mechanisms in Single Layer Textiles. Langmuir  vol. 33, (43) 12072-12079. 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b02982

Pandey A, Karpitschka S, Lubbers LA, Weijs JH, Botto L, Das S, Andreotti B and Snoeijer JH (2017). Dynamical theory of the inverted cheerios effect. Soft Matter  vol. 13, (35) 6000-6010. 10.1039/c7sm00690j

Mata A, Azevedo HS, Botto L, Gavara N and Su L (2017). New Bioengineering Breakthroughs and Enabling Tools in Regenerative Medicine. Current Stem Cell Reports  vol. 3, (2) 83-97. 10.1007/s40778-017-0081-9

Alvaro Vidal AV and BOTTO L (2017). Slip flow past a gas-liquid interface with embedded solid particles. Journal of Fluid Mechanics  10.1017/jfm.2016.842

2016

Karpitschka S, Pandey A, Lubbers LA, Weijs JH, Botto L, Das S, Andreotti B and Snoeijer JH (2016). Liquid drops attract or repel by the inverted Cheerios effect. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A  vol. 113, (27) 7403-7407. 10.1073/pnas.1601411113

Sliogeryte K, Botto L, Lee DA and Knight MM (2016). Chondrocyte dedifferentiation increases cell stiffness by strengthening membrane-actin adhesion. Elsevier  Osteoarthritis and Cartilage  vol. 24, (5) 912-920. 10.1016/j.joca.2015.12.007

Gu C and Botto L (2016). Direct calculation of anisotropic surface stresses during deformation of a particle-covered drop. Soft Matter  vol. 12, (3) 705-716. 10.1039/c5sm02374b

2015

Inostroza-Brito KE, Collin E, Siton-Mendelson O, Smith KH, Monge-Marcet A, Ferreira DS, Rodríguez RP, Alonso M, Rodríguez-Cabello JC, Reis RL, Sagués F, Botto L, Bitton R, Azevedo HS and Mata A (2015). Co-Assembly, spatiotemporal control and morphogenesis of a hybrid protein-peptide system. Nature Chemistry  vol. 7, (11) 897-904. 10.1038/nchem.2349

Davies GB and Botto L (2015). Dipolar capillary interactions between tilted ellipsoidal particles adsorbed at fluid-fluid interfaces. Soft Matter  vol. 11, (40) 7969-7976. 10.1039/c5sm01815c

2014

Lubbers LA, Weijs JH, Botto L, Das S, Andreotti B and Snoeijer JH (2014). Drops on soft solids: free energy and double transition of contact angles. Journal of Fluid Mechanics  vol. 747, 10.1017/jfm.2014.152

Botto L, Preuss K, Robertson LX and Xu XY (2014). Physical characterisation and yield stress of a concentrated Miscanthus suspension. Rheologica Acta  vol. 53, (10-11) 805-815. 10.1007/s00397-014-0794-y

Sliogeryte K, Thorpe SD, Lee DA, Botto L and Knight MM (2014). Stem cell differentiation increases membrane-actin adhesion regulating cell blebability, migration and mechanics. Scientific Reports  vol. 4, 10.1038/srep07307

2013

Botto L (2013). A geometric multigrid Poisson solver for domains containing solid inclusions. Computer Physics Communications  vol. 184, 1033-1044. 10.1016/j.cpc.2012.11.008

Yao L, BOTTO L, Cavallaro MJ, Bleier BJ, Garvin V and Stebe KJ (2013). Near-field capillary repulsion. Royal Society of Chemistry  Soft Matter  (3) 779-786. 10.1039/C2SM27020J

2012

Botto L, Yao L, Leheny RL and Stebe KJ (2012). Capillary bond between rod-like particles and the micromechanics of particle-laden interfaces. Soft Matter  vol. 8, (18) 4971-4979. 10.1039/c2sm25211b

Botto L and Prosperetti A (2012). A fully resolved numerical simulation of turbulent flow past one or several spherical particles. Physics of Fluids  vol. 24, (1) 10.1063/1.3678336

Botto L, Lewandowski EP, Cavallaro M and Stebe KJ (2012). Capillary interactions between anisotropic particles. Soft Matter  vol. 8, 10.1039/C2SM25929J

2011

Cavallaro M, Botto L, Lewandowski EP, Wang M and Stebe KJ (2011). Curvature-driven capillary migration and assembly of rod-like particles. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America  vol. 108, (52) 20923-20928. 10.1073/pnas.1116344108

Botto L, Yao L, Cavallaro M and Stebe K (2011). Rod-like microparticles at interfaces: near-field capillary interactions and implications for mechanics of particle-laden interfaces.

2010

Lewandowski E, Cavallaro M, Botto L and Bernate J (2010). Orientation and self-assembly of cylindrical particles by anisotropic capillary interactions. 10.1021/la1012632

Botto L and Stebe K (2010). Capillary bond between rod-like microparticles at interfaces.

Stebe K, Lewandowski E and Botto L (2010). Capillary interactions between elongated microparticles: A Pair Potential.

2006

Botto L, Zhang Z and Prosperetti A (2006). Microstructural Effects in a Fully-Resolved Simulation of 1,024 Sedimenting Spheres.

2005

Botto L, Narayanan C, Fulgosi M and Lakehal D (2005). Effect of near-wall turbulence enhancement on the mechanisms of particle deposition.

2003

Narayanan C, Lakehal D, Botto L and Soldati A (2003). Mechanisms of particle deposition in a fully developed turbulent open channel flow.