Rate My Professor Nikos Nikiforakis

Professor Nikiforakis heads the Laboratory for Scientific Computing (with over 40 members), serves as Director for Academic Programmes of the Centre for Scientific Computing, Course Director of the MPhil in Scientific Computing, Deputy Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Computational Methods for Materials Science, and Director of the Gianna Angelopoulos Programme for Science Technology and Innovation. He is also a Fellow, College Teaching Officer, and Director of Studies in Mathematics at Selwyn College, Cambridge. His research specializes in the development and application of numerical algorithms and high-performance computing methods for the simultaneous solution of complex systems of nonlinear partial differential equations, enabling direct numerical simulations of four states of matter (computational multiphysics). The work addresses multi-physics and multi-scale problems previously considered intractable and involves collaborations with industrial partners from the UK and abroad to transfer scientific knowledge into operational software, generating economic impact. Key publications include ‘Multiphysics modelling of millimetre-wave ablation of geological materials’ (Computers and Geotechnics, 2026), ‘A multi-physics algorithm for shocked viscous flows interacting with geometrically complex elastoplastic materials’ (Physics of Fluids, 2025), ‘Three-dimensional full-field simulation of sonic boom emanating from complex geometries over buildings’ (Shock Waves, 2023), and ‘Numerical modelling of imposed magnetohydrodynamic effects in hypersonic flows’ (Physics of Fluids, 2022).