Fangbao Tian

Associate Professor Fangbao Tian is a prominent researcher in computational fluid dynamics and fluid-structure interactions at the University of New South Wales Canberra, serving as Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Engineering and Technology since July 2023. He obtained his BSc in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in 2006 and PhD in Fluid Mechanics in 2011 from the University of Science and Technology of China. After completing his doctorate, Tian worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, USA, from September 2011 to August 2013. He joined UNSW Canberra as a Research Associate from August 2013 to September 2014, progressed to Lecturer from September 2014 to June 2017, Senior Lecturer from July 2017 to December 2021 (including as an ARC DECRA Fellow from 2016 to 2019), and has been Associate Professor since January 2022.

Tian’s research focuses on developing CFD tools for complex flows and fluid-structure interactions, with applications in biological flows such as laryngeal aerodynamics, vocal-fold vibration, fish swimming, insect flight, blood flow, and non-Newtonian fluids. He has published over 136 journal articles and 73 conference papers, and secured more than $10 million in external funding as Chief Investigator or co-Chief Investigator, including ARC Discovery Projects on scaling laws for aerodynamics of moving wings in the Martian atmosphere (2024-2026) and fluid-structure-acoustics interactions of bio-inspired flapping wings (2020-2022). His accolades include the ARC DECRA Fellowship (2016), UNSW Canberra Goldstar Award (2022), IEEE Outstanding SMCS Chapter Award (2021), Outstanding Volunteer Award from IEEE ACT Section (2021), co-recipient of the First Prize of Yunnan Science & Technology Awards (2020), and UNSW Canberra Silverstar Awards (2017 and 2018). Tian holds editorial positions as Associate Editor for Journal of Fluids and Structures since 2022 and Scientific Reports since 2022, and serves as a reviewer for over 20 international journals. Notable publications encompass "Buckling of three-dimensional wavy collapsible tubes conveying viscous flows" (Physics of Fluids, 2026), "Lift increment scaling and its failure due to the leading-edge vortex detachment transition for a flapping wing under perturbations" (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2025), and "An immersed boundary method for the thermo–fluid–structure interaction in rarefied gas flows" (Physics of Fluids, 2024).