Ruby Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti Photo The J. Stewart Turner Professor of Oceanography

Physical Oceanography
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1967

Nature on the grand scale of the oceans and atmosphere has had a compelling attraction that has always challenged the human mind. I received my Ph.D. in Physics and worked in stability theory, transition to turbulent convection and on laboratory and mathematical models of the large-scale wind-driven ocean circulation. My interest in turbulent convection continues and it has led to the discovery of a new kind of order in an otherwise chaotic flow. I have also been studying double-diffusive instability, with new results which I am hoping to apply toward a better understanding of ocean circulation.

One of the stimulating things about being a professor is that each student brings with him his own particular interests and style of addressing problems. Thus, I have directed M.S. and Ph.D. students working in bioconvection and on the heat budget of oil-contaminated Arctic Sea ice, as well as on stability and transition to turbulence. I am proud of their accomplishments as well as their subsequent professional development.