Professor Ignazio Maria Viola

Professor of Fluid Mechanics and Bioinspired Engineering

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Mechanical Engineering

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Energy Systems
Multiscale Thermofluids
Research Publications
Prof. Ignazio Maria Viola

Ignazio Maria Viola is Professor of Fluid Mechanics and Bioinspired Engineering at the School of Engineering of the University of Edinburgh; Professor of Naval Architecture at the Department of Industrial Engineering at the Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna; and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Department of Energy and Power Engineering as well as the School of Aerospace Engineering of Tsinghua University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) and Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).

He publishes in Nature, Nature Communications, eLife, Renewable Energy, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Ocean Engineering, etc. For his publications, he was awarded two RINA Medals of Distinction and one Medal of Exceptional Merit, a Gold Rating for the Best Journal Article by the International Marine Energy Journal, as well as the Covid-19 Hero Medal of the School of Engineering of the University of Edinburgh for his significant contribution to solving Covid-19 challenges.

He contributed to securing grants for about £20m, about half of which as Principal Investigator. Between his major research projects, he leads the ERC Consolidator Grant fellowship ‘Dandidrone: Dandelion-Inspired Drones for Swarm Sensing,’ and the ARIA grant ‘SEED: Self-degrading Environmental Exploration Drones.’ He led the EPSRC project ‘Morphing Blades: New-Concept Turbine Blades for Unsteady Load Mitigation,’ resulting in two patents and an ongoing collaboration with the tyre manufacturer Michelin. He was the Edinburgh co-lead of two Centres for Doctoral Training in Wind & Marine Energy Systems & Structure, and he is the Director of Responsible Research and Innovation of the latter.

He is the Functional Vice President Alt. of Knowledge Management of SNAME, and a member of several executive committees, including the Group on Energy Research and Applications of the American Physical Society, the UK Fluids Network, and the UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Network. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy (published by Springer) and a member of the Executive Committee of two conference series: the ECCOMAS International Conferences on Computational Methods in Marine Engineering (MARINE), and the symposiums in Innovation in High-Performance Sailing Yachts (Innov'Sail). He was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sailing Technology between 2016 and 2025 (published by SNAME), and Associate Editor of the Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering between 2023 and 2025 (published by ASME).

Curriculum Vitae

Research Group: VOILAb

05/2008, PhD in Mechanical Systems EngineeringDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy Thesis: Numerical and Experimental Aerodynamics of Yacht SailsSupervisor: Prof. Fabio Fossati 

04/2001, Laurea (5-year integrated Master’s degree, pre-Bologna system) in Naval EngineeringDepartment of Naval Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy 

PROFESSIONAL TITLES

CEng, Chartered Engineer Registered by the Engineering Council (UK), no. 584133 (2010)

Dott. ing., Italian State Examination to practice as ‘Ingegnere’ (engineer) (2001)

EUR ING, European Federation of National Engineering Associations, no. 31153 (2010)

FRINA, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, no. 00174260 (2010)

FSNAME, Fellow of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, no. 2003765 (2025)

 

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES MEMBERSHIPS

‘Albo degli Ingegneri di Milano,’ Member of the Professional Body of Engineers, no. A22092 (2001)

AIAA, Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, no. 488312 (2020)

APS, Member of the American Physical Society, Division of Fluid Dynamics, no. 61177987 (2014)

ASME, Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, no. 000103762573 (2013)

PIANC, Member of the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (2002)

RINA, Member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, no. 00300035 (2009)

SNAME, Member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, no. 2003765 (2010)

  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Marine Energy
  • Naval Architecture

Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics, including

  • Aerodynamics of small fliers
  • Aerosol aerodynamics
  • Biomechanics of flying and swimming
  • Hydrodynamics of marine vessels
  • Sail Aerodynamics
  • Wind and Tidal Energy