Awarded in 2007
Home Department: Bioengineering
Faculty Advisors: Charles Taylor (Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering) and Markus Covert (Bioengineering)

Research Title: An Investigation of Arterial Stiffening using 3D Computer Simulations of Blood Flow

Research Description: Recent advances in modern medical imaging and computing have enabled researchers to build increasingly realistic computer models of the cardiovascular system. Understanding the propagation of pressure and flow waves as a function of arterial stiffness is a crucial factor in unveiling the mechanisms behind diseases such as hypertension. Nan’s work involves combining medical image data and other non-invasive clinical measurements with computational mechanics to construct realistic, three-dimensional simulations of blood flow in the large arteries of the human body in order to study the impact of changing arterial stiffness on the wave propagation behavior of arterial blood flow.

WHERE IS HE NOW?

Nan works for Heartflow, Inc. as a computational scientist.