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Faculty of Mathematics

 

Career

Oct. 90 - Present: Assistant Lecturer, then Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, University of Cambridge
Oct. 11 - Present: Bye-Fellow and Director of Studies, Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Oct. 90 - Sept. 98: Fellow and Director of Studies, Selwyn College, Cambridge
Oct. 85 - Sept. 90: Lecturer, Imperial College London
Oct. 83 - Sept. 85: Lecturer, University College London
Oct. 82 - Sept. 83: Research Fellow, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Oct. 81 - Sept. 82: Research Fellow & Fulbright Scholar, Northwestern University
Jan. 81 - Sept. 81: Research Fellow, Selwyn College, Cambridge

Short and medium term visitor to the University of Brasilia, Caltech, Cornell University, Imperial College, NASA Langley, NASA Lewis, Ohio State University, Oxford University, the University of Michigan, Monash University, Moscow State University and PUC-Rio.

Qualifications

  • BA Mathematics (1977), University of Cambridge
  • Part III Mathematics (1978), MMath (2011), University of Cambridge
  • MA (1980), University of Cambridge
  • PhD (1981), University of Cambridge

Research

My research  centres around asymptotic descriptions of high-Reynolds-number (i.e. fast) fluid flows, such as occur in flows past aircraft wings/fuselages, space shuttles, turbine blades, ships, cars and other transport, and as also occur in the larger blood vessels.  Specifically I have been interested in separation/stall, the growth of instabilities leading to turbulence (i.e. transition to turbulence), the validity of the high-Reynolds-number approximation, and vortex-sheet roll-up.

Teaching

I have taught a range of courses in the Mathematical and Natural Science Triposes, including Vectors & Matrices (Part IA, previously Algebra & Geometry), Methods & Calculus (Part IA, now Vector Calculus), Numerical Analysis (both Part IB and Part II), Waves (Part II), High-Reynolds-Number Flows (Part III), Computational Methods in Fluid Dynamics (Part III), Perturbation Methods (Part III, and in a number guises) and Mathematical Methods (NST Part IB). I was the Director of CATAM from 2008-2014 (for my sins).

Other Internal Activities

I was an elected member of the University's Council (2007-14, 2017-20) and, inter alia, served on the University's Finance, HR, Resource Management, Planning & Resources and Business Committees. I was also an appointed member of the Council of the School of Physical Sciences (2008-14, 2017-20), and an elected member of the University's Board of Scruitiny (2001-05).

I was Chair of the Faculty of Mathematics (2011-2014).

External Activities

I have served on EPSRC grant and evaluation committees.

Publications

Distortion of a flat-plate boundary layer by free-stream vorticity normal to the plate
ME GOLDSTEIN, SJ LEIB, SJ COWLEY
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
237,
231
On the instability of hypersonic flow past a flat plate
ND BLACKABY, SJ COWLEY, P HALL
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
247,
369
On the weakly nonlinear three-dimensional instability of shear layers to pairs of oblique waves: The Stokes layer as a paradigm
XS WU, SS LEE, SJ COWLEY
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
253,
681
On the weakly nonlinear development of Tollmien-Schlichting wavetrains in boundary layers
XS Wu, PA Stewart, SJ Cowley
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
323,
133
On the instability of hypersonic flow past a wedge
S COWLEY, P HALL
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
214,
17
On the stability and the numerical solution of the unsteady interactive boundary-layer equation
OR TUTTY, SJ COWLEY
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
168,
431
On the rotating-fluid flow near the rear stagnation point of a circular cylinder
MA PAGE, SJ COWLEY
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
194,
79
Generation of Tollmien–Schlichting waves on interactive marginally separated flows
ME GOLDSTEIN, SJ LEIB, SJ COWLEY
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
181,
485
Viscous thermocapillary convection at high Marangoni number
SJ COWLEY, SH DAVIS
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
135,
175
On the stability of Poiseuille-Couette flow: a bifurcation from infinity
SJ COWLEY, FT SMITH
– Journal of Fluid Mechanics
(2006)
156,
83
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