Howard A. Stone, the chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has been awarded the American Physical Society’s 2016 Fluid Dynamics Prize, which recognizes achievement in fluid dynamics research.

Stone, the Donald R. Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, explores fundamental questions of fluid motion. His research combines theory, simulation, modeling and experimentation to study flow phenomena and examine questions involving engineering, biology and physics. His work has had applications to systems as varied as blood cells, bubbles and droplets, foams, chemical kinetics and biofilms.

In announcing the award July 20, the American Physical Society recognized Stone for “seminal contributions to our understanding of low Reynolds number flows, microfluidics, interfacial phenomena and biological fluid dynamics, and for his inspirational contributions to teaching and communicating the beauty and power of fluid mechanics in physics and engineering.”

Stone received his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology and was the Vicky Joseph Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University before joining the Princeton faculty in 2009. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

The award is scheduled to be presented at the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting in Portland, Oregon in November.