Welcome, and thank you for stopping by!

I am currently a postdoctoral associate in the Senseable City Lab at MIT, working with Professor Carlo Ratti and Professor Daniela Rus. There, I am developing an autonomous boat for Amsterdam's canals as part of the interdisciplinary Roboat project. Additionally, I am collaborating with Professor Wim M. van Rees in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where I am leading a numerical research project focused on modeling the fluid dynamics around bio-inspired flexible fins. Ultimately, I am interested in developing advanced numerical schemes to analyze the fluid-structure interaction of complex moving geometries.

I received my PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California (UC) Berkeley, under the supervision of Professor Tarek I. Zohdi in the Computational Manufacturing and Materials Lab. My PhD work focused on establishing the basis for a new coupled method that combines smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) with Voronoi diagrams. In addition, I earned a PhD in Naval and Oceanic Sciences and Technologies as a result of my long term collaboration with Professor Antonio Souto-Iglesias at the CEHINAV, studying the impact of the interference resistance in catamarans. Before moving to Berkeley, I worked for an Offshore Engineering firm, Seaplace. I was fully involved in a series of projects linked with the conceptual design and experimental tests of innovative ocean energy technologies for offshore power generation.

If you have any further questions, you can reach me at davidfg[at]mit[dot]edu or fill the contact form.

Thank you!

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Fluid dynamics
• Hydrodynamic & Aerodynamic modeling
• Control systems
• Structural analysis

Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Star-CCM+, ANSYS Fluent

Programming Languages

C/C++, Fortran, Matlab, NI LabVIEW, Python

Software development tools

Git, Docker, ROS, SLURM

CAD/CAM Modelling

SolidWorks, Rhinoceros, AutoCAD

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2018   Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
University of California at Berkeley
Thesis: Delta Voronoi Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, δ-VSPH  [ link ]
Advisor: Prof. Tarek I. Zohdi

2016   Ph.D. in Naval and Oceanic Sciences and Technologies
Technical University of Madrid
Thesis: Analysis and Optimization of the Interference Resistance in Multihulls  [ link ]
Advisor: Prof. Antonio Souto-Iglesias

2014   M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
University of California at Berkeley
Report: Implementation of a Panel Method to Predict the Hydrodynamic Performance of Horizontal-Axis Marine Current Turbines
Advisor: Prof. Ronald W. Yeung

2008   Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Degree (Master's equivalent, international)
Technical University of Madrid
Capstone Project: Conceptual design of a cruise ship for 650 passengers

1. Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Award, granted to the top 10% GSI at UC Berkeley, 2016.
2. Anselmo Macchi Fellowship for Engineering Graduate Students from UC Berkeley, 2015.
3. Best professional trajectory for under 35 years old, awarded by the Spanish Association of Naval Engineers, 2013.
4. Rafael del Pino Fellowship, awarded to the top 17 Spanish candidates for international graduate programs (from approximately 300 applicants), 2012.
5. National Award for the Excellence in Academic Achievement, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education to the top 71 undergraduate Spanish students (from approximately 200.000), 2008.
6. Highest GPA of all Naval Engineers who graduated from the Technical University of Madrid since 1974, 2008.
7. Best Capstone Project Award by the School of Naval Engineering of the Technical University of Madrid,  selected between 50 projects, 2008.
8. Academic Performance Award, granted to less than 0.5% of the students at the Technical University of Madrid, 2003.

1. Research mentor of three undergraduate students under the UROP program at MIT
2. Graduate Student Instructor of ME 163 and ME107 (Engineering Aerodynamics and Wind Tunnel Lab) for 7 semesters at UC Berkeley.
3. Substitute lecturer in offshore engineering at the Technical University of Madrid.
4. Capstone project co-advisor of one student from the Technical University of Madrid, who's project was titled Design of a Floating Platform for an Offshore Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT).