Ximo Gallud Cidoncha

Ximo is a PhD student in aeronautics and astronautics conducting research at the intersection of numerical modeling and physics of nanoscale engineering devices. A frequent MATLAB user, he is working on a problem related to the numerical analysis of the shapes of small liquid menisci stressed under very high electric fields to evaporate ions. As these ions fly away, they produce thrust, hence a rocket can be constructed under this principle. This is difficult to analyze since the scales change dramatically from millimeters to nanometers, which creates a set of numerical challenges as equations describing the balance of electric, surface tension, and hydraulic stresses, including thermal loads that need to be solved simultaneously on meshes with very strong dimensional gradients. He earned a BS in aeronautics and astronautics and physics from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain