Staff profile

About Me

I received my BSc (2009) and MSc (2012), both in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Iran. I then moved to École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, where I completed my PhD (2017) in Mechanical Engineering, followed by a short postdoctoral appointment (2017–2018).

Since November 2018, I have been part of the Department of Engineering at Durham University, first as an Assistant Professor (2018–2022) and now as an Associate Professor (since July 2022).

Research

I am a fluid dynamicist with a deep passion for environmental science and sustainable energy, particularly in the area of offshore wind.

In my research group, we use theoretical, numerical, and experimental approaches to explore the aerodynamics of wind turbines and wind farms. Our team has pioneered the development of fast, physics-based mathematical models that improve the efficiency of wind farms and capture their complex interactions with atmospheric turbulence.

These models are widely used in both research and industry and have been implemented in leading wind energy software tools such as FLORIS (NREL) and PyWake (DTU). Our research has been supported by Innovate UK, EPSRC, and various industrial partners.

I serve on the editorial teams of the two flagship journals in the wind energy field: Wind Energy Science (as Associate Editor) and Wind Energy (as Editorial Board Member).

For more about our work, please visit my personal webpage: www.majidbastankhah.com

Honors and Awards

(2024) Our JFM paper (link) was selected as one of ten “Focus on Fluids” (FoF) articles featured in a special collection celebrating Volume 1000 of JFM. This collection highlights some of the most high-impact publications in the journal’s history (link)

(2021) Teaching Excellence awardDepartment of Engineering, Durham University

(2017) Earth Sciences and Engineering Award for the best publication in the field of environmental engineering, EPFL, Switzerland.

(2014) Outstanding Poster (OSP) Award (link), EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.

(2014) Best Poster Presentation, 21st Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence, Leeds.

(2013) Best Poster Award, Green days, EPFL, Switzerland

(2009) National Gold Medal in the Mechanical Engineering Olympiad, Iran.

(2009) Ranked 1st in the Nationwide M.Sc. Entrance Exam in Mechanical Engineering among more than 15000 participants, Iran.

• Wind Energy Aerodynamics
• Experimental Fluid Mechanics
• Turbulent Flows
• Atmospheric Boundary Layer Flows

• 2025: Associate editor, Wind Energy Science:
• 2025: Editorial board, Wind Energy Journal:
• 2025: EPSRC Peer Review College:
• 2024 - 2027: Imperial College London:
• 2020: Guest Editor in Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy:
• 2020: Member of the Royal Society’s International Exchanges Panel:
• 2019: Session chair in Wind Energy Science Conference (WESC), Cork, Ireland:

Conference Paper

• Curled wake shape evolution downstream of yawed wind turbines: a theoretical study
  
  Bastankhah, M., Shapiro, C., Shamsoddin, S., Gayme, D., & Meneveau, C. (2021, May 25). Curled wake shapeevolution downstream of yawed wind turbines: a theoretical study. Presented at Wind Energy Science Conference (WESC), Hanover, Germany.
• Analytical solution for the cumulative wake of wind turbines in wind farms
  
  Bastankhah, M., Welch, B., Martinez-Tossas, L., King, J., & Fleming, P. (2021, March 25). Analytical solution forthe cumulative wake of wind turbines in wind farms. Presented at Wind Energy Science Conference (WESC), Hanover, Germany.
• Wake Flow Structure Behind Multi-rotor Wind Turbines
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Abkar, M. (2019, June 17). Wake Flow Structure Behind Multi-rotor Wind Turbines. Presented at Wind Energy Science Conference (WESC), Cork, Ireland.
• Different aspects of wind turbine interaction with turbulent boundary-layer flows: A wind tunnel study
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2018, October 10). Different aspects of wind turbine interaction with turbulentboundary-layer flows: A wind tunnel study. Presented at 55th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science (SES2018), Madrid, Spain.
• Interaction of miniature wind turbines with turbulent boundary-layer flows
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2018, March 22). Interaction of miniature wind turbines with turbulent boundary-layer flows. Presented at Wind Energy Science and Wind Tunnel Experiments, Oldenburg, Germany.
• A wind-tunnel investigation of wind-turbine wakes in differentyawed and loaded conditions
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2015, April 12 – 2015, April 17). A wind-tunnel investigation of wind-turbine wakes in differentyawed and loaded conditions [Conference paper]. Presented at European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria.
• A wind-tunnel investigation of wind-turbine wakes in yawed conditions
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porté-Agel, F. (2015). A wind-tunnel investigation of wind-turbine wakes in yawed conditions. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 625, Article 012014. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/625/1/012014
• A new analytical model for wind turbine wakes
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2014, June 17). A new analytical model for wind turbine wakes. Presented at International Conference on Aerodynamics of Offshore Wind Energy Systems and Wakes (ICOWES 2013), Lyngby, Denmark.
• Optimization of wind farm performancebased on yaw angle control
  
  Bastankhah, M., Dios Romero, I., & Porte-Agel, F. (2014, June 9 – 2014, June 13). Optimization of wind farm performancebased on yaw angle control [Conference paper]. Presented at 21st Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence (BLT), Leeds, UK.

Journal Article

• Sensitivity analysis of computational domain height for semi-infinite and finite-sized wind farms
  
  Chanprasert, W., Bastankhah, M., Buxton, O., & Ivanell, S. (2025). Sensitivity analysis of computational domain height for semi-infinite and finite-sized wind farms. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 3016(1), Article 012052. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/3016/1/012052
• Gaussian FLOWERS: Wind-rose-based analytical integration of Gaussian wake model for extremely fast AEP estimation
  
  Whittaker, C., LoCascio, M. J., Martínez-Tossas, L. A., Bay, C. J., & Bastankhah, M. (2025). Gaussian FLOWERS: Wind-rose-based analytical integration of Gaussian wake model for extremely fast AEP estimation. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 17(1), Article 013306. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0245886
• Modelling turbulence in axisymmetric wakes: an application to wind turbine wakes
  
  Bastankhah, M., Zunder, J. K., Hydon, P. E., Deebank, C., & Placidi, M. (2024). Modelling turbulence in axisymmetric wakes: an application to wind turbine wakes. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1000, Article A2. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2024.664
• FLOWERS AEP: An Analytical Model for Wind Farm Layout Optimization
  
  LoCascio, M. J., Bay, C. J., Martínez‐Tossas, L. A., Bastankhah, M., & Gorlé, C. (2024). FLOWERS AEP: An Analytical Model for Wind Farm Layout Optimization. Wind Energy, 27(12), 1563-1580. https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2954
• Characterisation and Integration of Piezoelectric Trimorph Actuators for Blade Active Surface Control on a Scaled Wind Turbine
  
  Fuentes Holden, J. P., Gan, L., Sims-Williams, D., Gilbert, J., Osborne, P., & Bastankhah, M. (2024). Characterisation and Integration of Piezoelectric Trimorph Actuators for Blade Active Surface Control on a Scaled Wind Turbine. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2767(9), Article 092094. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2767/9/092094
• A fast-running physics-based wake model for a semi-infinite wind farm
  
  Bastankhah, M., Mohammadi, M. M., Lees, C., Diaz, G. P. N., Buxton, O. R., & Ivanell, S. (2024). A fast-running physics-based wake model for a semi-infinite wind farm. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 985, Article A43. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2024.282
• Dries Allaerts, 1989–2024
  
  Bastankhah, M., Churchfield, M., Draxl, C., Goit, J. P., Khan, M., Martinez Tossas, L. A., Meyers, J., Moriarty, P., Munters, W., Önder, A., Porchetta, S., Quon, E., Sood, I., van Lipzig, N., van Wingerden, J., Veers, P., & Watson, S. (2024). Dries Allaerts, 1989–2024. Wind Energy Science, 9(11), 2171-2174. https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-2171-2024
• Curled-Skewed Wakes behind Yawed Wind Turbines Subject to Veered Inflow
  
  Mohammadi, M., Bastankhah, M., Fleming, P., Churchfield, M., Bossanyi, E., Landberg, L., & Ruisi, R. (2022). Curled-Skewed Wakes behind Yawed Wind Turbines Subject to Veered Inflow. Energies, 15(23), Article 9135. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15239135
• Wind tunnel research, dynamics, and scaling for wind energy
  
  Bastankhah, M., Hamilton, N., & Bayoán Cal, R. (2022). Wind tunnel research, dynamics, and scaling for wind energy. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 14(6), Article 060402. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0133993
• A vortex sheet based analytical model of the curled wake behind yawed wind turbines
  
  Bastankhah, M., Shapiro, C. R., Shamsoddin, S., Gayme, D. F., & Meneveau, C. (2022). A vortex sheet based analytical model of the curled wake behind yawed wind turbines. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 933, Article A2. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2021.1010
• FLOW Estimation and Rose Superposition (FLOWERS): an integral approach to engineering wake models
  
  LoCascio, M. J., Bay, C. J., Bastankhah, M., Barter, G. E., Fleming, P. A., & Martínez-Tossas, L. A. (2022). FLOW Estimation and Rose Superposition (FLOWERS): an integral approach to engineering wake models. Wind Energy Science, 7(3), 1137-1151. https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1137-2022
• Wake steering of multirotor wind turbines
  
  Speakman, G. A., Abkar, M., Martínez‐Tossas, L. A., & Bastankhah, M. (2021). Wake steering of multirotor wind turbines. Wind Energy, 24(11), 1294-1314. https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2633
• Analytical solution for the cumulative wake of wind turbines in wind farms
  
  Bastankhah, M., Welch, B. L., Martínez-Tossas, L. A., King, J., & Fleming, P. (2021). Analytical solution for the cumulative wake of wind turbines in wind farms. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 911, Article A53. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2020.1037
• Wind-Turbine and Wind-Farm Flows: A Review
  
  Porte-Agel, F., Bastankhah, M., & Shamsoddin, S. (2020). Wind-Turbine and Wind-Farm Flows: A Review. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 174, 1-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-019-00473-0
• Multirotor wind turbine wakes
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Abkar, M. (2019). Multirotor wind turbine wakes. Physics of Fluids, 31(8), Article 085106. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5097285
• Round-robin tests of porous disc models
  
  Aubrun, S., Bastankhah, M., Cal, R., Conan, B., Hearst, R., Hoek, D., Hölling, M., Huang, M., Hur, C., Karlsen, B., Neunaber, I., Obligado, M., Peinke, J., Percin, M., Saetran, L., Schito, P., Schliffke, B., Sims-Williams, D., Uzol, O., … Zasso, A. (2019). Round-robin tests of porous disc models. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1256. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1256/1/012004
• Wind farm power optimization via yaw angle control: A wind tunnel study
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porté-Agel, F. (2019). Wind farm power optimization via yaw angle control: A wind tunnel study. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 11(2), Article 023301. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5077038
• A New Miniature Wind Turbine for Wind Tunnel Experiments. Part I: Design and Performance
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2017). A New Miniature Wind Turbine for Wind Tunnel Experiments. Part I: Design and Performance. Energies, 10(7), Article 908. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10070908
• Wind tunnel study of the wind turbine interaction with a boundary-layer flow: Upwind region, turbine performance, and wake region
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porté-Agel, F. (2017). Wind tunnel study of the wind turbine interaction with a boundary-layer flow: Upwind region, turbine performance, and wake region. Physics of Fluids, 29(6), Article 065105. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4984078
• A New Miniature Wind Turbine for Wind Tunnel Experiments. Part II: Wake Structure and Flow Dynamics
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porté-Agel, F. (2017). A New Miniature Wind Turbine for Wind Tunnel Experiments. Part II: Wake Structure and Flow Dynamics. Energies, 10(7), Article 923. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10070923
• Experimental and theoretical study of wind turbine wakes in yawed conditions
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porté-Agel, F. (2016). Experimental and theoretical study of wind turbine wakes in yawed conditions. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 806, 506-541. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2016.595
• A new analytical model for wind-turbine wakes
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porté-Agel, F. (2014). A new analytical model for wind-turbine wakes. Renewable Energy, 70, 116-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2014.01.002
• FLOWERS: An integral approach to engineering wake models
  
  LoCascio, M., Bay, C., Bastankhah, M., Barter, G., Fleming, P., & Martinez-Tossas, L. (n.d.). FLOWERS: An integral approach to engineering wake models. Wind Energy Science [Submitted].

Presentation

• Analytical modeling of turbine wakes in yawed conditions
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2016, April 17 – 2016, April 22). Analytical modeling of turbine wakes in yawed conditions [Poster]. Presented at European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria.
• Effects of positive versus negative yaw angles on wind-turbine performance: an application of BEM theory
  
  Bastankhah, M., & Porte-Agel, F. (2014, April 27 – 2014, May 2). Effects of positive versus negative yaw angles on wind-turbine performance: an application of BEM theory [Poster]. Presented at European Geosciences Union (EGU), Vienna, Austria.