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FLUIDS AND STRUCTURES LABORATORY

We use high-speed videography to capture fluid-structure interactions in nature and everyday life.

RESEARCH GROUP

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Watson

Daren Watson, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Daren Watson is an Assistant Professor at the Florida Polytechnic University with expertise in Bioinspiration, Fluid-Structure Interactions, and Interfacial Fluid Mechanics. His research group employs high-speed videography to capture and analyze fluid-structure interactions in nature and everyday life. Watson's work has generated broad interest across the fields of physics and engineering with publications in several high-impact journals such as Energy Reports, Journal of Fluids and Structures, Journal of Visualized Experiments, Physics of Fluids, Physical Review Fluids and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

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Adrian Santos

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Fall 2025 - Present

Research Interests: Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

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Zamar Joseph

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2024 - Present

Research Interests: Bioinspiration, Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

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Sebastian Anzola

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2024 - Present

Research Interests: Bioinspiration, Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

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Freddy Zeas

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2024 - Present

Research Interests: Bioinspiration, Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

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David Vidana-Fuentes

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2024 - Spring 2025

Research Interests: Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

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Korrie Smith, B.S.M.E.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2022 - Spring 2024

Research Interests: Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

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Anthony Cruz, B.S.M.E.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Spring 2022 - Spring 2023

Research Interests: Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

Currently seeking Graduate Research Assistants for Spring & Fall 2026. Interested students should send an email to dwatson@floridapoly.edu. 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Bioinspiration, Fluid-Structure Interactions, Interfacial Fluid Mechanics

WATER ENTRY THROUGH CYLINDRICAL PIPES

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Watson, D. A., Joseph, Z. C., Vidana–Fuentes, D. A., Anzola, S., and Zeas, F. A. “Water entry dynamics of hydrophobic spheres bounded by semi–infinite cylindrical pipes”. Physics of Fluids. Journal Article/Under Review

  2. Joseph, Z. C., Vidana–Fuentes, D. A., Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., and Watson, D. A. [2025] “Wall effects induced by semi–infinite cylindrical pipes in hydrophobic sphere entry”. Presented at the American Physical Society 78th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 23 – 25, 2025, Houston, Texas, United States of America.

  3. Joseph, Z. C., Vidana–Fuentes, D. A., and Watson, D. A. [2025] “Water entry dynamics of hydrophobic spheres through cylindrical pipes”. Presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference, February 14 – 15, 2025, University of South Florida, Florida, United States of America.

  4. Joseph, Z. C., Vidana–Fuentes, D. A., Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., and Watson, D. A. [2025] “Wall effects induced by semi–infinite cylindrical pipes in hydrophobic sphere entry”. Presented at the 2nd Annual Mechanical Engineering Research Forum, November 4, 2025, Florida Polytechnic University, Florida, United States of America.

  5. ​Joseph, Z. C., Vidana–Fuentes, D. A., and Watson, D. A. [2025] “Water entry dynamics of spherical projectiles through cylindrical pipes”. Presented at the Research Day Symposium, April 21, 2025, Florida Polytechnic University, Florida, United States of America.

WATER ENTRY THROUGH POLYSTYRENE BEADS

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Watson, D. A., Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., Smith, K. B., and Cruz, A. A. [2024] “Compound cavity formation and splash crown suppression by water entry through proximally adjacent polystyrene beads”. Physics of Fluids. Volume 36, Issue 9, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0226769, September 25, 2024. Journal Article

  2. Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., Smith, K. B., Cruz, A. A., and Watson, D. A. [2025] “Water entry dynamics of spherical projectiles through a polystyrene bead layer”. Presented at the Research Day Symposium, April 21, 2025, Florida Polytechnic University, Florida, United States of America.

  3. Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., Smith, K. B., Cruz, A. A., and Watson, D. A. [2025] “Compound cavity formation and splash crown suppression by water entry through proximally adjacent polystyrene beads”. Presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference, February 14 – 15, 2025, University of South Florida, Florida, United States of America.

  4. Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., Smith, K. B., Cruz, A. A., and Watson, D. A. [2024] “Compound cavity formation and splash crown suppression by water entry through proximally adjacent polystyrene beads”. Presented at the American Physical Society 77th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 24 – 26, 2024, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America. Student Poster Award Winner

  5. ​Anzola, S., Zeas, F. A., Smith, K. B., Cruz, A. A., and Watson, D. A. [2024] “Compound cavity formation and splash crown suppression by water entry through proximally adjacent polystyrene beads”. Presented at the 1st Annual Mechanical Engineering Research Forum, November 18, 2024, Florida Polytechnic University, Florida, United States of America.

  6. Cruz, A. A., Smith, K. B., and Watson, D. A. [2023] “Water entry dynamics of hydrophobic spheres near floating debris on a deep liquid pool”. Presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference, February 17 – 18, 2023, St. Thomas University, Florida, United States of America.

  7. Cruz, A. A., Smith, K. B., and Watson, D. A. [2022] “Water entry dynamics of hydrophobic spheres near floating debris on a deep liquid pool”. Presented at the American Physical Society 75th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 20 – 22, 2022, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.

  8. Smith, K. B., Cruz, A. A., and Watson, D. A. [2022] “Water entry dynamics of hydrophilic spheres through particle–laden free surfaces”. Presented at the American Physical Society 75th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 20 – 22, 2022, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.

RAINFALL IMPACTS ONTO WATER STRIDERS

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Watson, D. A., Thornton, M. R., Khan, H. A., Diamco, R. C., Aydin D. Y., and Dickerson, A. K. [2024] “Water striders are impervious to raindrop collision forces and submerged by collapsing craters”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 121, Issue 5, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2315667121, January 2024. Journal Article

  2. Watson, D. A., and Dickerson, A. K. [2021] “Life on stormy seas: water striders are impervious to raindrop impacts”. Presented at the American Physical Society 74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 21 – 23, 2021, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America.

  3. Watson, D. A. [2021] “Rainfall impacts on water striders”. Presented to the Locomotion and Design in Nature undergraduate class, February 16, 2021, University of Central Florida, Florida, United States of America.

  4. Watson, D. A., DiAmco, R. C., Khan, H. A., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “Survivability of water striders during raindrop collisions”. Presented at the 16th Annual Graduate Research Forum, April 5, 2019, University of Central Florida, Florida, United States of America.

  5. Watson, D. A., Khan, H. A., DiAmco, R. C., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “On the survival of water striders during raindrop impacts”. Presented at the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, January 3 – 7, 2019, Tampa, Florida, United States of America.

SIMULTANEOUS IMPACTS OF TWIN DROPS

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Artman–Breitung, M., Watson, D. A., Dickerson, A. K. [2021] “Simultaneous impact of twin drops on a semi-infinite liquid target”. Physics of Fluids, Volume 33, Issue 10, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0067442, October 2021. Journal Article

  2. Dickerson, A. K., Artman–Breitung, M., and Watson, D. A. [2021] “Simultaneous impact of twin drops on a semi-infinite liquid target”. Presented at the American Physical Society 74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 21 – 23, 2021, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America.

WATER ENTRY OF HETEROGENEOUS SPHERES

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Watson, D. A., Bom, M. J., Weinberg, P. M., Souchik, J. C., and Dickerson, A. K. [2021] “Water entry dynamics of spheres with heterogeneous wetting properties”. Physical Review Fluids, Volume 6, Issue 4, https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevfluids.6.044003, April 2021. Journal Article

  2. Watson, D. A., Bom, M. J., Souchik, J. C., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “Underwater acrobatics of partially– coated spheres”. Presented at the American Physical Society 72nd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 23 – 26, 2019, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.

  3. Bom, M. J., Souchik, J. C., Watson, D. A., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “Vertical impacts of chemically heterogeneous spheres on a deep liquid pool”. Presented at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, April 4, 2019, University of Central Florida, Florida, United States of America.

WATER ENTRY THROUGH NON-PENETRABLE FABRICS

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Watson, D. A., Souchik, J. C., Weinberg, P. M., Bom, M. J., and Dickerson, A. K. [2020] “Making a splash with fabrics in hydrophilic sphere entry”. Journal of Fluids and Structures, Volume 94, 102907, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2020.102907, March 2020. Journal Article

  2. Watson, D. A., Souchik, J. C., Bom, M. J., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “Water entry of hydrophilic spheres through fabric–fluid interfaces”. Presented at the American Physical Society 72nd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 23 – 26, 2019, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.

  3. Souchik, J. C., Bom, M. J., Watson, D. A., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “Vertical impacts of free–falling hydrophilic spheres onto stratified fluid surfaces”. Presented at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, April 4, 2019, University of Central Florida, Florida, United States of America.

WATER ENTRY THROUGH PENETRABLE FABRICS

Journal Articles, Conference Presentations and Research Symposiums

  1. Watson, D. A., Stephen, J. L., and Dickerson, A. K. [2019] “Impacts of free-falling spheres onto a deep liquid pool with altered fluid and impactor surface conditions”. Journal of Visualized Experiments, Issue 144, e59300, https://doi.org/10.3791/59300, February 2019. Journal Article

  2. Watson, D. A., Stephen, J. L., and Dickerson, A. K. [2018] “Jet amplification and cavity formation induced by penetrable fabrics in hydrophilic sphere entry”. Physics of Fluids, Volume 30, Issue 8, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5036655, August 2018. Journal Article

  3. Stephen, J. L., Watson, D. A., and Dickerson, A. K. [2018] “Splash regulation of vertical impacts on a liquid surface by alteration of surface conditions”. Presented at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, April 4, 2018, University of Central Florida, Florida, United States of America.

  4. Watson, D. A., Stephen, J. L., and Dickerson, A. K. [2017] “On the reduction of splash–back”. Presented at the American Physical Society 70th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, November 19 – 21, 2017, Denver, Colorado, United States of America.

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FLORIDA POLY PROFESSOR UNCOVERS SECRETS OF WATER-WALKING INSECTS' SURVIVAL

January 8, 2025

CONTACT US

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Address:

Florida Polytechnic University, 4700 Research Way, Lakeland, FL 33805

Email:

dwatson@floridapoly.edu

Phone:

863-874-8550

©2025 by Fluids and Structures Laboratory, Florida Polytechnic University

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