Profile

Sam Petter is a Research Engineer in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the study of mixing transitions in fluid instabilities and the development and application of non-intrusive diagnostics to measure velocity and density fields in complex flow environments. Dr. Petter’s work combines experimental fluid mechanics, advanced optical diagnostics, and high-speed imaging techniques to better understand the fundamental physics driving mixing processes.

He collaborates closely with several U.S. National Laboratories, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), to advance diagnostic methods and modeling approaches for high-energy-density and turbulent flow systems.

Education

  • B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 2016
  • M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018
  • Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022

Publications

  •     Petter, S., Musci, B., Pathikonda, G., Suchandra, P., Ranjan, D. “The Effect of Density Ratio on the Blast Driven Instability.” Physical Review Fluids. 2025.
  •     Suchandra, P., Mikhaeil, M., Pathikonda, G., Petter, S., Ranjan, D. “Turbulent/non-turbulent interface in Rayleigh–Taylor flows.” Journal of Turbulence. 2025.
  •     Musci, B., Olson, B., Petter, S., Pathikonda, G., Ranjan, D. “Multi-fidelity validation of digital surrogates using variable-density turbulent mixing models.” Physical Review Fluids. 2023.
  •     Pathikonda, G., Petter, S., J., Wall, I. E., & Ranjan, D. “Temporal evolution of scalar modes in Richtmyer–Meshkov instability of inclined interface using high-speed PIV and PLIF measurements at 60 kHz.” Measurement Science and Technology, 33(10), 105206. 2022.
  •     Musci, B., Petter, S., Pathikonda, G., Ochs, B., Ranjan, D. “Supernova hydrodynamics: A lab-scale study of the blast-driven instability using high-speed diagnostics.” The Astrophysical Journal, 896(2), 92. 2020.