Maxwell Institute · Heriot-Watt University

Vortex-driven fluid mechanics.

We uncover the hidden role of vortices in natural and engineered flows — from the flight of dandelion seeds to wave-structure interaction in coastal engineering.

Research featured in Nature, BBC, Discovery, Time, and The New York Times.

Explore Research Meet the Team

Vortex-dominated flows

Seed flight, wakes, biological transport

Interfacial & multiphase flows

Drops, bubbles, liquid bridges, stability

Waves, structures & the seabed

Coastal structures, seabed failure, offshore loading

We are recruiting! Looking for passionate PhD students, postdocs, and Master's students — see open positions.

Research overview

The Contraflow Group studies fluid mechanics across biological, interfacial, and coastal systems, with vortices as a unifying theme. Our work combines mathematical analysis, numerical simulation, and physical modelling to explain counterintuitive flow phenomena and to develop predictive tools for real-world applications.

Recent work has focussed particularly on wave-induced loading, seabed instability, and structural failure near marine and offshore infrastructure, while earlier discoveries on dandelion flight, uphill-moving droplets, and sinking bubbles revealed new mechanisms in vortex-dominated and multiphase flows.

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