Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Professor at the University of Twente

Wind energy · Turbulence · Environmental flows

Curriculum Vitae

Profile and position

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

My research combines large-eddy simulation, direct numerical simulation and physical modelling of wind-farm–atmosphere interaction, atmospheric boundary layers, wall-bounded turbulence and thermal convection. The ERC WINDFLOW project aims to connect wind-farm simulations with weather-scale prediction.

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 research connects wind-farm–atmosphere interaction, multiscale prediction and physical modelling, and turbulence simulation and high-performance computing. The selected contributions cover atmospheric-boundary-layer physics, turbulent convection and wind-energy aeroacoustics; AFiD-GPU provides a shared software contribution.

Publication and citation metrics

  • Website bibliography: 129 peer-reviewed publications, including 29 first-author and 55 last-author publications; the current preprint is listed separately.
  • Google Scholar: 9,283 citations, h-index 53.
  • Web of Science: 127 core publications, 6,585 citations, h-index 47.
  • OpenAlex: 65% of publications in the top 10% by citations and 26% in the top 1%, using field- and year-normalized ranks.

Metrics last updated: 26 September 2026. Database coverage and counting conventions differ. The selected bibliography lists peer-reviewed papers and the current preprint separately.

Included in the 2026 Stanford–Elsevier citation database among the top 2% in Fluids & Plasmas for both career-long and single-year impact (data through 2025).

Publication highlights

  • 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.

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 “Recent Advances in Turbulent Wind Farm Dynamics”.
  • 2019: Invited Guest Editor, Energies special issue “Fluid Mechanics and Turbulence in Wind Farms”.

Selected honours and recognition

  • Inaugural Wind Energy Science Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2024.
  • 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).
  • 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.

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 conference and research-school lectures are listed below; see also doctoral teaching.

Teaching and supervision

I teach and coordinate Turbulence and Mathematical and Numerical Physics, and lecture in the Sustainability and Climate Physics minor, including Physics of Solar and Wind Energy, at the University of Twente. I also contribute as invited lecturer to national graduate courses on turbulence and wake flows. See courses and doctoral teaching.

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 the completed-PhD count, 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 EUROMECH Colloquium 669, Recent advances in turbulent wind-farm dynamics (London, 22–24 April 2026), co-chaired with Mike Hölling under chair Oliver Buxton.

I review proposals for ERC, DFG, SNF, ANR, DOE, PRACE and national computing facilities, and have completed 436 verified journal peer reviews recorded in Web of Science (as of 26 September 2026).

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.

External profiles