About

Jinzi Mac Huang is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at NYU Shanghai. His research interests include applied mathematics, fluid dynamics, geophysics, and soft matter physics. He collaborates with the Applied Math Lab at the Courant Institute, the Applied Math Lab Shanghai at NYU Shanghai, and the Joint Physics Lab at the NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics. Huang holds a PhD in Mathematics from the Courant Institute at New York University and a BS in Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics from Zhiyuan College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His work involves experimental fluid dynamics and applied mathematics, contributing to understanding shape dynamics, fluid flow, and natural convective dissolution.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Physics
• Geomorphology
• Earth science
• Paleontology
• Engineering
• Mathematical analysis
• Mathematics
• Mechanics
• Geology
• Applied mathematics
• Chemical engineering

Selected publications

• Huygens' clocks at the microscale

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-02-05

  articleOpen access

  Weakly coupled oscillators adjust their dynamics to work in unison: they synchronize. This ubiquitous phenomenon is observed for oscillating pendulum, electronic devices, as well as clapping crowds or flashing fireflies. In effect, synchronization constitutes an efficient mean to translate microscopic into large scale dynamics. While broadly studied theoretically, experimental investigations of synchronization of systems at the microscale are limited. Here we devise and study a model system of noisy and "measurably imperfect" colloidal oscillators: autonomous clocks made of an active swimmer revolving around a passive sphere. The distribution of natural frequency of the clock is achieved using passive spheres of various sizes, thus without altering the (phoretic) coupling between clocks. We observe that pairs of oscillators lock phases before slipping and returning to sync, and we characterize the synchronicity of the pair. We rationalize our findings with a stochastic model, formalizing synchronization as a classical Kramers escape problem in an adequate potential. This provides an analytical expression for the rate of synchronization of a pair set by the ratio between differences of natural frequency and environmental noise, and agrees qualitatively with the experiment. Our results set a blueprint for synchronization with micrometric autonomous systems.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Huygens' clocks at the microscale

  Open MIND · 2026-02-05

  preprint

  Weakly coupled oscillators adjust their dynamics to work in unison: they synchronize. This ubiquitous phenomenon is observed for oscillating pendulum, electronic devices, as well as clapping crowds or flashing fireflies. In effect, synchronization constitutes an efficient mean to translate microscopic into large scale dynamics. While broadly studied theoretically, experimental investigations of synchronization of systems at the microscale are limited. Here we devise and study a model system of noisy and "measurably imperfect" colloidal oscillators: autonomous clocks made of an active swimmer revolving around a passive sphere. The distribution of natural frequency of the clock is achieved using passive spheres of various sizes, thus without altering the (phoretic) coupling between clocks. We observe that pairs of oscillators lock phases before slipping and returning to sync, and we characterize the synchronicity of the pair. We rationalize our findings with a stochastic model, formalizing synchronization as a classical Kramers escape problem in an adequate potential. This provides an analytical expression for the rate of synchronization of a pair set by the ratio between differences of natural frequency and environmental noise, and agrees qualitatively with the experiment. Our results set a blueprint for synchronization with micrometric autonomous systems.

  DOI

• Low-order reaction-diffusion system approximates heat transfer and flow structure in annular convection

  Physical Review Fluids · 2025-07-22

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Covering convection with thermal blankets: fluid–structure interactions in thermal convection

  Journal of Fluid Mechanics · 2025-01-20 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The continental plates of Earth are known to drift over a geophysical time scale, and their interactions have led to some of the most spectacular geoformations of our planet while also causing natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. Understanding the dynamics of interacting continental plates is thus significant. In this work, we present a fluid mechanical investigation of the plate motion, interaction and dynamics. Through numerical experiments, we examine the coupling between a convective fluid and plates floating on top of it. With physical modelling, we show the coupling is both mechanical and thermal, leading to the thermal blanket effect: the floating plate is not only transported by the fluid flow beneath, it also prevents the heat from leaving the fluid, leading to a convective flow that further affects the plate motion. By adding several plates to such a coupled fluid–structure interaction, we also investigate how floating plates interact with each other, and show that under proper conditions, small plates can converge into a supercontinent.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Predicting thermophysical properties of amine solutions: A hybrid machine learning framework with synthetic data augmentation

  Separation and Purification Technology · 2025-07-24 · 3 citations

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Side-heated Rayleigh–Bénard convection

  Journal of Fluid Mechanics · 2024-11-13 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Unlike in solids, heat transfer in fluids can be greatly enhanced due to the presence of convection. Under gravity, an unevenly distributed temperature field results in differences in buoyancy, driving fluid motion that is seen in Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC). In RBC, the overall heat flux is found to have a power-law dependence on the imposed temperature difference, with enhanced heat transfer much beyond thermal conduction. In a bounded domain of fluid such as a cube, how RBC responds to thermal perturbations from the vertical sidewall is not clear. Will sidewall heating or cooling modify flow circulation and heat transfer? We address these questions experimentally by adding heat to one side of the RBC. Through careful flow, temperature and heat flux measurements, the effects of adding side heating to RBC are examined and analysed, where a further enhancement of flow circulation and heat transfer is observed. Our results also point to a direct and simple control of the classical RBC system, allowing further manipulation and control of thermal convection through sidewall conditions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Covering convection with a thermal blanket: numerical simulation and stochastic modelling

  Journal of Fluid Mechanics · 2024-02-06 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Adding moving boundaries to convective fluids is known to result in non-trivial and surprising dynamics, leading to spectacular geoformations ranging from kilometre-scale karst terrains to planetary-scale plate tectonics. On the one hand, the moving solid alters the surrounding flow field, but on the other hand, the flow modifies the motion and shape of the solid. This leads to a two-way coupling that is significant in the study of fluid–structure interactions and in the understanding of geomorphologies. In this work, we investigate the coupling between a floating plate and the convective fluid below it. Through numerical experiments, we show that the motion of this plate is driven by the flow beneath. However, the flow structure is also modified by the presence of the plate, leading to the ‘thermal blanket’ effect where the trapped heat beneath the plate results in buoyant and upwelling flows that in turn push the plate away. By analysing this two-way coupling between moving boundary and fluid, we are able to capture the dynamical behaviours of this plate through a low-dimensional stochastic model. Geophysically, the thermal blanket effect is believed to drive the continental drift, therefore understanding this mechanism has significance beyond fluid dynamics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Large-scale circulation reversals explained by pendulum correspondence

  Journal of Fluid Mechanics · 2024-08-25 · 5 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  We introduce a low-order dynamical system to describe thermal convection in an annular domain. The model derives systematically from a Fourier–Laurent truncation of the governing Navier–Stokes Boussinesq equations and accounts for spatial dependence of the flow and temperature fields. Comparison with fully resolved direct numerical simulations (DNS) shows that the model captures parameter bifurcations and reversals of the large-scale circulation (LSC), including states of (i) steady circulating flow, (ii) chaotic LSC reversals and (iii) periodic LSC reversals. Casting the system in terms of the fluid's angular momentum and centre of mass (CoM) reveals equivalence to a damped pendulum with forcing that raises the CoM above the fulcrum. This formulation offers a transparent mechanism for LSC reversals, namely the inertial overshoot of a forced pendulum, and it yields an explicit formula for the frequency $f^*$ of regular LSC reversals in the high-Rayleigh-number ( Ra ) limit. This formula is shown to be in excellent agreement with DNS and produces the scaling law $f^* \sim {Ra}^{0.5}$ .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Low-order reaction-diffusion system approximates heat transfer and flow structure in annular convection

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-11-25

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Heat transfer in a fluid can be greatly enhanced by natural convection, giving rise to the nuanced relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number that has been a focus of modern fluid dynamics. Our work explores convection in an annular domain, where the geometry reinforces the large-scale circulatory flow pattern that is characteristic of natural convection. The flow must match the no-slip condition at the boundary, leading to a thin boundary layer where both the flow velocity and the temperature vary rapidly. To understand the system's heat transfer characteristics, we derive a reduced model from the Navier-Stokes-Boussinesq equations, whereby the equations of flow and heat are transformed to a system of low-order partial differential equations (PDEs) that take the form of a reaction-diffusion system. Solutions to the reaction-diffusion system, though they fail to predict dynamic events, preserve the same boundary-layer structure seen in the direct numerical simulation (DNS). By matching the solutions inside and outside the boundary layer, asymptotic analysis predicts a power-law relationship Nu $\propto$ Ra$^{1/4}$. Though difficult to distinguish from an exponent of 2/7, the predicted power law agrees well with measurements from DNS over several decades of the Rayleigh number. Considering the model's deficiencies in describing turbulent fluctuations and reversal events, the agreement regarding heat transfer characteristics is encouraging and suggests that the methodology of systematically deriving low-order PDEs from the governing equations may provide a useful complement to existing theories.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Covering convection with thermal blankets: fluid-structure interactions in thermal convection

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-04-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The continental plates of Earth are known to drift over a geophysical timescale, and their interactions have lead to some of the most spectacular geoformations of our planet while also causing natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. Understanding the dynamics of interacting continental plates is thus significant. In this work, we present a fluid mechanical investigation of the plate motion, interaction, and dynamics. Through numerical experiments, we examine the coupling between a convective fluid and plates floating on top of it. With physical modeling, we show the coupling is both mechanical and thermal, leading to the thermal blanket effect: the floating plate is not only transported by the fluid flow beneath, it also prevents the heat from leaving the fluid, leading to a convective flow that further affects the plate motion. By adding several plates to such a coupled fluid-structure interaction, we also investigate how floating plates interact with each other and show that, under proper conditions, small plates can converge into a supercontinent.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Leif Ristroph

  Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

  21 shared

• Michael Shelley

  18 shared

• Nicholas J. Moore

  15 shared

• Jun Zhang

  10 shared

• Jun Zhang

  Chinese PLA General Hospital

  9 shared

• Jun Zhang

  Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry

  9 shared

• Jun Zhang

  9 shared

• Jun Zhang

  University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

  8 shared

Education

• PhD, Mathematics

  New York University

  2018

• BS, Zhiyuan College

  Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  2013