David Smeulders is a Full Professor in the section Energy Technology at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Chair of Engineering Thermodynamics for Energy Systems. His research interests include transport in porous media, gas dynamics, thermodynamics, acoustics and hydraulic fracturing. Tuition topics include transport in porous media, thermodynamics and gas dynamics and sustainable energy sources. 

Research concentrates on two topics. The first is Microscale interface processes, where the system length scale is typically smaller than the length scale of the transport process over the considered interface. Applications are electrokinetic flows, micromixing, membrane technology, electronics cooling, condensation phenomena in (natural) gases, and hemodialysis. We also study fracture initiation and propagation in porous media and interfacial aspects of ionized porous media.

The second is Small-scale renewable energy systems, addressing the energy system as a whole rather than the individual process. Two renewable examples are hybrid PhotoVoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) systems and Heat Storage Systems. Also thermochemical treatment of biomass is investigated. Smallest scale physical processes are studied by coupling Molecular Dynamics analysis with a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo model.

David Smeulders obtained his PhD in Physics from TU/e, with a thesis entitled “wave propagation in saturated and partially saturated porous media”. He also holds an MSc in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University. Before joining TU/e, he was Assistant and later Associate professor of Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics, Department of Civil Engineering and Technical Geosciences Delft University of Technology. He has been a visiting professor at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. (Grant Negev Desert Large Scale Facility (LSF) and at Le Mans, France (Grant Pays de la Loire.) 

David speaks regularly at key international events. Recent appointments have included lectures at EPFL, Lausanne (2017), Conference on Technology Perspectives for Energy Storage, Prague (2015), the Symposium on Energy Geotechnics, Barcelona (2015), 2nd International Conference on Continuous Media with Microstructure, Łagów (2015) and Petrochina, Beijing (2010). He is or has been a member of over a dozen scientific/advisory committees and MSc/PhD committees worldwide and is on the Editorial Board of Transport in Porous Media.

Acoustical Society of America ASA

Society of Petroleum Engineers SPE

Society of Exploration Geophysicists SEG

Member of the board of project leaders of the Dutch research school JMBC

European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers EAGE

Partners in (semi-)industry

Vice-president Technology, Dutch Petrophysical Society

Scientific Director, Geotechnology Laboratory, Delft University of Technology

Topconsortia for Knowledge and Innovation TKI Gas and TKIEnerGo

Program Council, Chemelot InSciTe