Sacha Szkudlarek

I am an enthusiastic and hardworking individual with a deep intellectual curiosity and a wide range of interests, from physics to bouldering, sailing, building, travelling, and reading. I enjoy working with people, solving complex problems, and sharing my knowledge. I am pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering at TU Delft, focusing on the numerical investigation of wetting on micro-structured surfaces. I hold a Master's degree in Applied Physics from TU Delft, where I specialised in Quantum Information Theory and the Qubit Mapping Problem and co-authored a research paper. Additionally, I earned a Master's in Science Education and Communication from TU Delft. My academic journey began with a bachelor's degree in theoretical physics and astronomy from Leiden University, where I conducted thesis research on simulating a Fabry-Perot micro-cavity. Beyond academics, I have experience as a sailing instructor, fund manager, and student association board member, and I possess skills in Python programming, algorithm design, event management, and teaching.

Research

Multi-phase systems/flows are essential in our daily lives, from tiny organisms all the way to atmospheric-scale events. From an engineering perspective, the process industry, whether conventional or modern, relies heavily on multi-phase systems. The aim of this project is to study the behaviour of gas bubbles (phase 1) in a liquid medium (phase 2), switching from one equilibrium energy state to another due to the structures on a solid substrate (phase 3). The investigation will consist of developing a theoretical framework and numerical analyses, both of which will address the complex interplay of such gas bubbles as a function of the (physical) structure. 

An auxiliary part of this PhD position will focus on improving education within TU Delft, especially in connection with introducing new learning activities and measuring their impact.