Lei Fang

Lei Fang is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining the faculty at Pitt, he received a Ph.D. from Stanford University in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department with a Ph.D. minor in Computational and Mathematical Engineering. His research focuses on turbulence dynamics, and transport and mixing problems with particular emphasis on topics relevant to biology, environment, and health. Current interests include the transport of active non-spherical swimmers, biologically generated mixing, disease transition, and the development of new experimental methods. Currently, Dr. Fang's lab is looking for Master and Ph.D. students. He also welcomes undergraduate students to get involved in the research. Interested applicants should contact Prof. Lei Fang at lei.fang@pitt.edu directly with an updated CV.

  • Ph.D., Stanford University, 2017 - 2020
  • M.S., Stanford University, 2015 - 2017
  • B.S., Colorado State University, 2012 - 2015

  • Li, Z., & Fang, L. (2025). Thin-layer formation of ellipsoidal gyrotactic swimmers in time-dependent hydrodynamic shear. JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS, 1016.Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi: 10.1017/jfm.2025.10404.
  • Si, X., De Lillo, F., Boffetta, G., & Fang, L. (2025). Manipulating the direction of turbulent energy flux via tensor geometry in a two-dimensional flow. Sci Adv, 11(30), eadv0956.American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv0956.
  • Li, Z., & Fang, L. (2024). On the ideal gas law for crowds with high pressure. PHYSICA A-STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS, 638.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.physa.2024.129657.
  • Si, X., & Fang, L. (2024). Interaction between swarming active matter and flow: The impact on Lagrangian coherent structures. PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 9(2).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.9.033101.
  • Si, X., & Fang, L. (2024). Biologically generated turbulent energy flux in shear flow depends on tensor geometry. In Reis, R. (Ed.). PNAS Nexus, 3(2), pgae056.Oxford University Press (OUP). doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae056.
  • Si, X., & Fang, L. (2022). Preferential transport of swimmers in heterogeneous two-dimensional turbulent flow. PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 7(9).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.7.094501.
  • Fang, L., & Ouellette, N.T. (2021). Spectral condensation in laboratory two-dimensional turbulence. PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 6(10).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.6.104605.
  • Si, X., & Fang, L. (2021). Preferential alignment and heterogeneous distribution of active non-spherical swimmers near Lagrangian coherent structures. PHYSICS OF FLUIDS, 33(7).AIP Publishing. doi: 10.1063/5.0055607.
  • Si, X., & Fang, L. (2021). A novel social distance model reveals the sidewall effect at bottlenecks. Sci Rep, 11(1), 20982.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-00486-1.
  • Si, X., & Fang, L. (2021). Preferential Alignment and Heterogeneous Distribution of Non-spherical Swimmers Near Lagrangian Coherent Structures. doi: 10.1002/essoar.10509041.1.
  • Fang, L., Balasuriya, S., & Ouellette, N.T. (2020). Disentangling resolution, precision, and inherent stochasticity in nonlinear systems. PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH, 2(2).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.023343.
  • Zhou, Z., Fang, L., Ouellette, N.T., & Xu, H. (2020). Vorticity gradient stretching in the direct enstrophy transfer process of two-dimensional turbulence. PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 5(5).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.5.054602.
  • Fang, L., & Ouellette, N.T. (2019). Transport across a bathymetric interface in quasi-two-dimensional flow. PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 4(6).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.4.064501.
  • Fang, L., Balasuriya, S., & Ouellette, N.T. (2019). Local linearity, coherent structures, and scale-to-scale coupling in turbulent flow. PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 4(1).American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.4.014501.
  • Fang, L., & Ouellette, N.T. (2018). Influence of lateral boundaries on transport in quasi-two-dimensional flow. Chaos, 28(2), 023113.AIP Publishing. doi: 10.1063/1.5003893.
  • Fang, L., & Ouellette, N.T. (2017). Multiple stages of decay in two-dimensional turbulence. PHYSICS OF FLUIDS, 29(11).AIP Publishing. doi: 10.1063/1.4996776.
  • Fang, L., & Ouellette, N.T. (2016). Advection and the Efficiency of Spectral Energy Transfer in Two-Dimensional Turbulence. Phys Rev Lett, 117(10), 104501.American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.104501.
Research Interests
Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering Applied mathematics
headshot of Lei Fang
Contact Lei Fang
Assistant Professor
lei.fang@pitt.edu
Lab Website
Civil & Environmental Engr