Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Professor at the University of Twente

Wind energy · Turbulence · Environmental flows

Curriculum Vitae

Profile

I am Professor at the University of Twente, in the Physics of Fluids group. My research focuses on wind energy, turbulence and environmental flows. I use large-scale numerical simulations and physical models to study wind-farm–atmosphere interaction and fundamental turbulent transport. The WINDFLOW project aims to link wind-farm simulations with weather-scale prediction; canonical turbulence studies isolate mechanisms and test numerical methods.

Research areas

Wind-farm–atmosphere interaction; multiscale prediction and physical modelling; turbulence simulation and high-performance computing; atmospheric-boundary-layer flow; wall-bounded turbulence; thermal convection; turbulent transport in energy and environmental flows.

Current position

Professor, Physics of Fluids group, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
Member of the Max Planck–University of Twente Center for Complex Fluid Dynamics.

Career

  • 06/2024–present: Professor, Physics of Fluids group, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
  • 06/2021–05/2024: Associate Professor with tenure, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
  • 09/2015–05/2021: Tenure-track Assistant Professor, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
  • 05/2012–08/2015: Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Charles Meneveau, Johns Hopkins University, United States.
  • 07/2011–04/2012: Postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Detlef Lohse, Physics of Fluids group, University of Twente, The Netherlands.

Education

  • 04/2008–06/2011: PhD in Applied Physics, cum laude, University of Twente. Thesis: Rayleigh–Bénard Turbulence, completed in 3 years and 3 months. Supervisors: Prof. Detlef Lohse and Prof. Herman Clercx.
  • 09/2003–03/2008: MSc in Applied Physics, cum laude, University of Twente.

Major grants and fellowships

  • 05/2024–04/2029: ERC Consolidator Grant WINDFLOW (101124815), €2.0M; awarded November 2023.
  • 01/2019–12/2023: ERC Starting Grant UltimateRB (804283), €1.5M; awarded August 2018.
  • 2016–2022: NWO STW Vidi grant (14868), €0.8M; awarded May 2016.
  • 2016–2022: Shell–NWO/FOM CSER tenure-track grant, €0.7M; awarded March 2016.
  • 2012–2016: FOM Young Energy Scientist (YES!) Fellowship; awarded April 2012.

Collaborative research projects

  • 2020: NWO Shaping Turbulence with Smart Particles, co-applicant.
  • 2019: Horizon 2020 High Performance Computing for Wind Energy, work-package leader in a 13-partner Europe–Brazil consortium.
  • 2016: Project in Cooperation India, co-applicant; funded by NWO, FOM, and the Government of India.

Selected research contributions

My contributions connect wind-farm–atmosphere interaction, atmospheric-boundary-layer physics, scalable computational fluid dynamics, turbulent convection, and wind-energy aeroacoustics. The five contribution summaries identify the methods, physical findings, collaborators, and evidence; AFiD-GPU provides a shared software contribution.

Publication and citation metrics

  • Google Scholar: 129 publications, 9,212 citations, h-index 53; 29 first-author and 55 last-author publications.
  • Web of Science: 119 indexed publications, 6,518 citations, h-index 47.
  • OpenAlex: 66% of publications in the top 10% by citations and 26% in the top 1%, using field- and year-normalized ranks.

Metrics last updated: 10 September 2026. These database-specific snapshots are reported in the September 2026 career record. The website bibliography contains 129 peer-reviewed publications and a separately labelled preprint; database coverage and counting conventions differ.

Publication highlights

  • 129 publications.
  • Invited reviews in Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics and Wind Energy Science, and an invited Journal of Fluid Mechanics Focus on Fluids commentary.
  • 34 Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 10 Physical Review Letters, 6 Physical Review Fluids, 4 Physics of Fluids, and 2 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences papers.
  • 9 Renewable Energy, 8 Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 7 Wind Energy, 4 Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 3 PRX Energy, and 3 Wind Energy Science papers.

See the publications page for the full publication list.

High-performance computing

I lead the Physics of Fluids computational section, which manages about 200 million high-performance-computing hours annually. I have contributed to large-scale turbulence simulations on European and national systems, including SuperMUC-NG, PRACE/EuroHPC/DECI systems, SURF/Snellius, and Piz Daint.

Editorial roles

  • 2026–present: Associate Editor, Wind Energy Science.
  • 2026: Guest Editor, Flow themed collection.
  • 2019: Invited Guest Editor, Energies special issue.

Selected honours and recognition

  • Inaugural Wind Energy Science Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2024.
  • ERC Consolidator Grant, 2023.
  • ERC Starting Grant, 2018.
  • NWO VIDI Award, 2016.
  • Physics Today cover featuring a visualization from a nearly 100-billion-grid-point simulation, 2023.
  • University of Twente Social Media Award, 2022.
  • New Scientist Wetenschapstalent top 25, 2017.
  • Journal of Fluid Mechanics Focus on Fluids article on wind-farm power densities, 2023.
  • Three Physics Magazine features: two PRX Energy papers (2022 and 2026) and one Physical Review Fluids paper (2021).
  • Invited Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics review on flow structure and turbulence in wind farms, 2017.
  • Two Physical Review Letters covers, 2009 and 2018.
  • Journal of Fluid Mechanics paper featured in a Focus on Fluids commentary, 2014.
  • Physical Review Fluids Editors’ Suggestion, 2021.
  • Three Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Featured Articles, 2021, 2024, and 2026.
  • New Journal of Physics Best of 2010.
  • Corrsin-Kovasznay Outstanding Paper Award, 2015.
  • Overijssel PhD Award and EUROTHERM Young Scientist Prize, 2012. DSM Science & Technology Award: national winner and international second place, 2012.
  • ERCOFTAC da Vinci Award for best PhD thesis on fluid dynamics in Europe, 2011.
  • Shell Master Prize, 2009.
  • PhD cum laude, University of Twente, 2011.

Invited lectures and community roles

I have delivered more than 100 lectures, including more than 40 invited lectures and keynotes at international meetings and research schools. Selected venues include APS-DFD, the Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence, the Wind Energy Science Conference, ERCOFTAC meetings, and high-performance-computing workshops.

Teaching and supervision

I teach and coordinate courses in turbulence, mathematical and numerical physics, and renewable energy and climate at the University of Twente. I also contribute as invited lecturer to national graduate courses on turbulence and wake flows.

Current supervision comprises five PhD candidates and one postdoctoral researcher. I have completed the supervision of 15 PhD candidates (six through primary supervision and nine through co-advising) and have hosted or supervised eight former postdoctoral researchers. The work spans wind-farm fluid mechanics, atmospheric-boundary-layer turbulence, thermal convection, and numerical simulation of turbulent flows.

See the people page for current group members and alumni.

Academic service

National contact for JMBC Turbulence (2020–present); member of Young Academy Twente (2018–2022); NWO Vidi panel (2020–2022) and Open Competition Domain Science–M panel (2024). I have acted as reviewer or opponent for 29 dissertations.

Selected meeting organisation: Rayleigh–Bénard Turbulence conference (2018), FYSICA symposium (2022), ECCOMAS symposium (2024), and the ERCOFTAC/EUROMECH symposium on Turbulent Wind Farm Dynamics (2026).

I serve the fluid mechanics, wind-energy, and computational-science communities through journal reviewing, proposal evaluation, dissertation committees, and scientific meeting organization. I have served on NWO panels, reviewed proposals for ERC, DFG, SNF, ANR, DOE, PRACE, and national computing facilities, and completed more than 430 peer reviews for international journals.

Public engagement and science communication

I communicate fluid mechanics and wind-energy research through public lectures, media contributions, university communication channels, social media, and this website, which provides illustrated research summaries, open-access versions of almost all publications, and simulation videos. As of 8 September 2026, my LinkedIn profile had more than 13,000 followers. My research has been featured by outlets including Physics Magazine, Physics Today, Science News, De Ingenieur, Nemo Kennislink, and University of Twente news. I received the University of Twente Social Media Award in 2022.

Press and speaking

For interviews, public lectures, and research seminars: contact Richard Stevens. Topics include wind-farm wakes and atmospheric interaction, turbulence and heat transport, large-eddy and direct numerical simulation, and scientific computing.

Short biography

Richard J.A.M. Stevens is Professor at the University of Twente. His research focuses on wind energy, turbulence and environmental flows, using large-scale numerical simulations and physical models.

Conference biography

Richard J.A.M. Stevens is Professor at the University of Twente, in the Physics of Fluids group. His research focuses on wind energy, turbulence and environmental flows, connecting fundamental momentum and heat transport with large-eddy simulation, direct numerical simulation, and physical models. With collaborators, he develops methods for wind-farm–atmosphere interaction, atmospheric-boundary-layer flow, and canonical turbulence. He leads the ERC Consolidator project WINDFLOW and previously held an ERC Starting Grant. He also leads the group’s computational section and co-developed AFiD-GPU with the wider solver team.

For an extended biography, use the career, contributions, and recognition sections. See news and recognition for dated coverage and simulation videos for scientific visual material.

Portrait reference: please contact Richard for the original, photographer credit, and permission before publication. Check the rights and reuse guidance for research figures and videos.

External profiles