Publications

Highlights

A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion

C Cummins, M Seale, A Macente, D Certini, E Mastropaolo, IM Viola, N Nakayama

Nature 562 (2018)

Why does nature give its tiniest fliers parachutes that are 90% empty space? The key is in the separated vortex ring, reported here for the first time.

Coverage: NY Times, BBC, Nature Editorial

Face coverings, aerosol dispersion and mitigation of virus transmission risk

IM Viola, B Peterson, G Pisetta, … C Cummins, … FV Mehendale

IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology 2 (2021)

Cited in the UK Government's SAGE report as evidence of mask protection against SARS-CoV-2. Directly influenced policy change on face coverings on public transport.

Coverage: MSNBC Nightly News

The dispersion of spherical droplets in source–sink flows and their relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic

C Cummins, OJ Ajayi, FV Mehendale, R Gabl, IM Viola

Physics of Fluids 32, 083302 (2020)

Selected as a Feature Article. Explains how airborne diseases spread during breathing and clinical procedures. Covered by 100+ news outlets worldwide.

Why do bubbles in Guinness sink?

E Benilov, C Cummins, W Lee

American Journal of Physics 81, 88 (2013)

Did you ever wonder why you need to wait for your pint of Guinness to settle? The glass geometry and bubble size conspire to create a vortex that sinks the bubbles.

Full List

• 2025
  Memory effects in wave-induced microplastic transport preprint

  M Eby, C Cummins — arXiv:2512.07402
• 2025
  Large-scale wave basin experimental study on the spatio-temporal distribution of wave impact loads on a semi-submersible platform

  N Zhang, L Xiao, Q Zou, C Cummins — Ocean Engineering 327, 120991
• 2025
  Stability of submarine slopes with monopile foundations under storm conditions

  B Song, C Cummins, Q Zou — Ocean Engineering 323, 120464
• 2025
  A novel failure surface predictive method for low-angle submarine slopes and coupling effects with monopile foundations

  B Song, C Cummins, Q Zou — Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 190, 109102
• 2024
  A contactless coupled pendulum and piezoelectric wave energy harvester: Model and experiment

  W Feng, H Chen, Q Zou, D Wang, X Luo, C Cummins et al. — Energies 17, 4, 876
• 2023
  Coupled stability of offshore wind monopile foundations and submarine slopes under periodic loads

  B Song, C Cummins, Q Zou — Applied Ocean Research 140, 103714
• 2021
  Numerical analysis of wave–structure interaction of regular waves with surface-piercing inclined plates

  C Cummins, G Scarlett, C Windt — Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy (2021)
• 2021
  Face coverings, aerosol dispersion and mitigation of virus transmission risk

  IM Viola, B Peterson, G Pisetta, … C Cummins … — IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology 2 (2021)
• 2020
  The dispersion of spherical droplets in source–sink flows and their relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic

  C Cummins, OJ Ajayi, FV Mehendale, R Gabl, IM Viola — Physics of Fluids 32, 083302 (2020)
• 2018
  A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion

  C Cummins, M Seale, A Macente, D Certini, E Mastropaolo, IM Viola, N Nakayama — Nature 562 (2018)
• 2018
  Design principles of hair-like structures as biological machines

  M Seale, C Cummins, IM Viola, E Mastropaolo, N Nakayama — Journal of the Royal Society Interface 15(142) (2018)
• 2017
  The effect of permeability on the flow past permeable disks at low Reynolds numbers

  C Cummins, IM Viola, E Mastropaolo, N Nakayama — Physics of Fluids 29, 097103 (2017)
• 2017
  Analytical and computational modelling for wave energy systems: the example of oscillating wave surge converters

  F Dias, E Renzi, S Gallagher, D Sarkar, Y Wei, T Abadie, C Cummins, A Rafiee — Acta Mechanica Sinica 33, 4 (2017)
• 2017
  A new model of viscous dissipation for an oscillating wave surge converter

  C Cummins, F Dias — Journal of Engineering Mathematics 103 (2017)
• 2015
  Experimental validation of numerically generated wave excitation torque on an OWSC

  D Crooks, T Whittaker, J van 't Hoff, C Cummins — Renewable Energies Offshore (2015)
• 2013
  The stability of a static liquid column pulled out of an infinite pool

  E Benilov, C Cummins — Physics of Fluids 25, 112105 (2013)
• 2013
  Thick drops on a slowly oscillating substrate

  E Benilov, C Cummins — Physical Review E 88, 023013 (2013)
• 2013
  Why do bubbles in Guinness sink?

  E Benilov, C Cummins, W Lee — American Journal of Physics 81, 88 (2013)