Roi Gurka, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Physics and Engineering Science

Contact Roi Gurka, Ph.D.
843-349-5097 rgurka@coastal.eduCoastal Science Center 178
Office hours: by appointmentEducation
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology
M.Sc., Agricultural Engineering, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology
B.Sc., Agricultural Engineering, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology
Research Interests
- Avian aerodynamics
- Odor based navigation
- Scalar transport
- Turbulence in stratified flows
- Fluid-structure interaction
Courses Taught
- Fluid mechanics
- Energy conversion
- Coastal and marine hydrodynamics
Publications
2017
Troup, M. L., Fribance, D. B., Libes, S. M., Gurka, R., and Hackett, E.E., 2017 Physical conditions of coastal hypoxia in the open embayment of long bay, South Carolina: 2006–2014. Estuaries and Coasts, 1-16.
Verso L., van Reeuwijk M., Gurka R., Taylor Z.J., Diamessis P.J. and Liberzon A., 2017, Experimental study of the initial growth of a localized turbulent patch in a stably stratified fluid, International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow., accepted.
2016
Gurka R., Krishnana K., Ben-Gida H., Kircheffer A.J., Kopp G.A. and Guglielmo C.G., 2016, Flow pattern similarities in the near wake of three bird species suggest a common role for unsteady aerodynamic effects in lift generation, Royal Society: Interface Focus, 7(1), 20160090.
Jacobs C.N., Merchant W., Jendrassak M., Limpasuvan V., Gurka R., Hackett E.E., 2016, Flow Scales of Influence on the Settling Velocities of Particles with Varying Characteristics. PLoS ONE 11(8): e0159645.
2015
Ben Gida H., Liberzon A. and Gurka R., 2015, A stratified wake of a hydrofoil accelerating from rest, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, doi:10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2015.09.031.
Stanlov O., Ben-Gida H., Kirchhefer A.J., Guglielmo C.G., Kopp G.A., Liberzon A. and Gurka R., 2015, On the estimation of time dependent lift of a European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) during flapping flight, Plos One,10(9): e0134582.
Segreto, J.M., A.J. Kirchhefer, E.E. Hackett, C.G. Guglielmo, G.A. Kopp, and R. Gurka, 2015, Experimental study of the unsteady aerodynamics during flapping flight of birds: European Starling, Western Sandpiper, and American Robin, 10th Pacific Symposium on Flow Visualization and Image Processing, Naples, Italy.
2014
Taylor Z.J., Gurka R. and Kopp G.A., 2014, Effects of leading edge geometry on the vortex shedding frequency of elongated bluff bodies at high Reynolds numbers, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 128:66-75.
2013
Weihs D., Hadad T., Gurka R. and Liberzon A., 2013, Flexible blade for in-line measurement of low-range viscosity, Chemical Engineering Science, 91: 130-133.
Ben Gida H., Kirchhefer AJ. Taylor Z.J., Benzer-Kerr W., Guglielmo C., Kopp G.A., Gurka R., 2013, Estimation of unsteady aerodynamics in the wake of a freely flying European starling, Plos One, 8(11): e80086.
Taylor Z.J., Liberzon A., Gurka R., Holzman R., Reesbeck T. and Diez F.J., 2013, Experiments on the vortex wake of a swimming knifefish, Experiments in Fluids, 54: 1588.
Taylor Z.J., Kopp G.A., and Gurka R., 2013, Distribution of spanwise enstrophy in the near wake of three symmetric elongated bluff bodies at high Reynolds number, Physics of Fluids, 25: 055103.
Kirchhefer A.J., Kopp G.A. and Gurka R., 2013, The near wake of a freely flying European Starling, Physics of Fluids, 25: 051902.
2012
Liberzon A., Gurka R., Sarathi P. and Kopp G.A., 2012, Estimate of turbulent dissipation in a decaying grid turbulent flow, 39, 71-78, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science.
Hadad T. and Gurka R., 2012, Tracer Particles characteristics and their effect on PIV/PTV analysis, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 45:203-212, 2013.
2011
Sarathi P., Gurka R., Kopp G.A. and Sullivan, 2011, A calibration scheme for quantitative concentration measurements using simultaneous PIV and PLIF, Experiments in Fluids, 52, 247-259.
2010
Hashemi P., Gurka R. and Hangan H., 2010, Experimental investigation of tornado-like vortex dynamics with swirl ratio: The mean and turbulent flow fields, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamic, 98, 936-944.
Sarathi P., Gurka R., Sullivan P.J. and Kopp G.A., 2010, Experimental measurements of expected mass fraction function in a contaminant plume, Boundary Layer Meteorology, 137(2), 167-185.
Diamessis P.J., Gurka R. and Liberzon A., 2010, Spatial characterization of vortical structures and internal waves in a stratified turbulent wake using proper orthogonal decomposition, Physics of Fluids, 22, 086601.
Taylor Z., Gurka R., Kopp G.A. and Liberzon A., 2010, Long duration, time-resolved PIV to study unsteady aerodynamics, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 59, 3262-3269.
2009
Gillo D., Gilboa B., Gurka R. and Bernheim A., 2009, Cooperative motion of molecular motors: force induced dynamic transitions, Physical Biology, 6, 1-10.