Dr Li (Sam) Shen
I spent my full-of-memory seven Bachelor’s and Master's years studying in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM–SJTU JI), where I developed a strong interest in thermal fluid research area and in higher education teaching thanks to my previous advisors Prof. Kwee-Yan Teh and Prof. David Hung.
I joined the current research group at the University of Oxford as a DPhil research student in 2018. Supervised by Prof. Richard Stone FREng and Prof. Ben Williams, my DPhil work aimed to increase our understanding of turbulent flows in thermal propulsion systems and to help automotive companies design the next generation systems with lower emissions. Combining my newly learnt skill sets at Oxford as an experimentalist with my previous experience at UM–SJTU JI as a data analyst, I used optical diagnostics tools to measure these complex flows in a non-intrusive way and developed algorithms with dimensionality reduction techniques to extract coherent structures from them for validating flow models.
After I received my DPhil in Engineering Science from Jesus College, Oxford, in early 2022, I took the opportunity to continue my research as a postdoctoral researcher within the group; this time in a rapid developing research area focusing on the sprays of a hydrogen carrier and potentially carbon-free alternative fuel – ammonia. Working with Prof. Felix Leach, we are enhancing our understanding of the multi-phase flow behaviour of this green energy source and helping the industry to increase the efficiency of its energy release process, with the targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving a carbon-neutral society sooner.
Since my undergraduate years, I am devoted to contributing to teaching activities. I was a teaching assistant at UM–SJTU JI for over six years, helping over 500 students from eight different countries better understand course materials and gain knowledge in corresponding subjects such as Thermodynamics and Automotive Engineering. In addition to teaching the students, I also served as the Chief Teaching Assistant Mentor in the Center for Learning and Teaching there and led a team of twelve mentors. Together we trained over 300 new teaching assistants and wrote a training handbook for UM–SJTU JI.
I am lucky that I could continue expressing my enthusiasm for teaching at Oxford. I served as a college tutor of P4 and A4 papers for the St Hugh’s College and Wycliffe Hall, and a B7 paper tutor and a P5 Thermo lab demonstrator for the Department of Engineering Science. In the past academic year (2022-2023), I was selected as the B7 Paper Lead Tutor.
As I step into my tenth year of continuous teaching this year (2023), I feel privileged to join Pembroke College as a College Lecturer in Engineering and teach P4 in the college. I learned a lot from my previous students and enjoyed every minute of teaching, and I look forward to continuing to explore the thermal fluid world with my fellow students.
- Shen, L., Willman, C. and Stone, R., “Investigation of Flow and Flame Propagation in a Spark Ignition Direct Injection Engine Using Particle Image Velocimetry,” Proceedings of the ASME 2022 ICE Forward Conference, ICEF2022-90622, 2022. doi: 10.1115/ICEF2022-90622
- Shen, L., Willman, C., Stone, R., et al., “On the use of particle image velocimetry (PIV) data for the validation of Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations during the intake process of a spark ignition direct injection (SIDI) engine,” Int. J. Engine Res. 23(6): 1061–1081, 2022. doi: 10.1177/14680874211001257
- Shen, L., Willman, C., Stone, R., et al., “Multi-Plane PIV Measurements in a Gasoline Direct Injection Engine,” SAE Int. J. Adv. & Curr. Prac. in Mobility 3(1): 233–239, 2020. doi: 10.4271/2020-01-2049
- Shen, L., Teh, K., Ge, P., et al., “In-Cylinder Flow Fields Evolution Analysis and Low-Dimensional Model by Means of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition,” Int. J. Engine Res. 22(5): 1714–1730, 2021. doi: 10.1177/1468087420917246
- Willman, C., Shen, L., Camm, J., et al., “Cycle-to-Cycle Variation Analysis of Two-Colour PLIF Temperature Measurements Calibrated with Laser Induced Grating Spectroscopy in a Firing GDI Engine,” SAE Int. J. Adv. & Curr. Prac. in Mobility 1(4): 1404–1419, 2019. doi: 10.4271/2019-01-0722
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/li-s-a04a6618a/
Research group website: https://eng.ox.ac.uk/tpsrg/about-us/alumni/
Dr Li (Sam) Shen
I spent my full-of-memory seven Bachelor’s and Master's years studying in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM–SJTU JI), where I developed a strong interest in thermal fluid research area and in higher education teaching thanks to my previous advisors Prof. Kwee-Yan Teh and Prof. David Hung.
I joined the current research group at the University of Oxford as a DPhil research student in 2018. Supervised by Prof. Richard Stone FREng and Prof. Ben Williams, my DPhil work aimed to increase our understanding of turbulent flows in thermal propulsion systems and to help automotive companies design the next generation systems with lower emissions. Combining my newly learnt skill sets at Oxford as an experimentalist with my previous experience at UM–SJTU JI as a data analyst, I used optical diagnostics tools to measure these complex flows in a non-intrusive way and developed algorithms with dimensionality reduction techniques to extract coherent structures from them for validating flow models.
After I received my DPhil in Engineering Science from Jesus College, Oxford, in early 2022, I took the opportunity to continue my research as a postdoctoral researcher within the group; this time in a rapid developing research area focusing on the sprays of a hydrogen carrier and potentially carbon-free alternative fuel – ammonia. Working with Prof. Felix Leach, we are enhancing our understanding of the multi-phase flow behaviour of this green energy source and helping the industry to increase the efficiency of its energy release process, with the targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving a carbon-neutral society sooner.
Since my undergraduate years, I am devoted to contributing to teaching activities. I was a teaching assistant at UM–SJTU JI for over six years, helping over 500 students from eight different countries better understand course materials and gain knowledge in corresponding subjects such as Thermodynamics and Automotive Engineering. In addition to teaching the students, I also served as the Chief Teaching Assistant Mentor in the Center for Learning and Teaching there and led a team of twelve mentors. Together we trained over 300 new teaching assistants and wrote a training handbook for UM–SJTU JI.
I am lucky that I could continue expressing my enthusiasm for teaching at Oxford. I served as a college tutor of P4 and A4 papers for the St Hugh’s College and Wycliffe Hall, and a B7 paper tutor and a P5 Thermo lab demonstrator for the Department of Engineering Science. In the past academic year (2022-2023), I was selected as the B7 Paper Lead Tutor.
As I step into my tenth year of continuous teaching this year (2023), I feel privileged to join Pembroke College as a College Lecturer in Engineering and teach P4 in the college. I learned a lot from my previous students and enjoyed every minute of teaching, and I look forward to continuing to explore the thermal fluid world with my fellow students.
- Shen, L., Willman, C. and Stone, R., “Investigation of Flow and Flame Propagation in a Spark Ignition Direct Injection Engine Using Particle Image Velocimetry,” Proceedings of the ASME 2022 ICE Forward Conference, ICEF2022-90622, 2022. doi: 10.1115/ICEF2022-90622
- Shen, L., Willman, C., Stone, R., et al., “On the use of particle image velocimetry (PIV) data for the validation of Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations during the intake process of a spark ignition direct injection (SIDI) engine,” Int. J. Engine Res. 23(6): 1061–1081, 2022. doi: 10.1177/14680874211001257
- Shen, L., Willman, C., Stone, R., et al., “Multi-Plane PIV Measurements in a Gasoline Direct Injection Engine,” SAE Int. J. Adv. & Curr. Prac. in Mobility 3(1): 233–239, 2020. doi: 10.4271/2020-01-2049
- Shen, L., Teh, K., Ge, P., et al., “In-Cylinder Flow Fields Evolution Analysis and Low-Dimensional Model by Means of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition,” Int. J. Engine Res. 22(5): 1714–1730, 2021. doi: 10.1177/1468087420917246
- Willman, C., Shen, L., Camm, J., et al., “Cycle-to-Cycle Variation Analysis of Two-Colour PLIF Temperature Measurements Calibrated with Laser Induced Grating Spectroscopy in a Firing GDI Engine,” SAE Int. J. Adv. & Curr. Prac. in Mobility 1(4): 1404–1419, 2019. doi: 10.4271/2019-01-0722
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/li-s-a04a6618a/
Research group website: https://eng.ox.ac.uk/tpsrg/about-us/alumni/