Professor Tadd Truscott is an internationally recognized experimentalist in fluid dynamics whose work spans high-impact phenomena such as droplet manipulation, water entry and cavitation physics. He leads the Splash Lab at KAUST, where his team explores the fundamental physics behind splash dynamics, hydrodynamic impact and contactless droplet transport—yielding new insights into applications in sustainability, healthcare and ocean restoration. Before joining KAUST, he was an associate professor at Utah State University, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University and a research engineer at the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Dr. Truscott earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering from MIT. His research has been featured in Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Physical Review Letters, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Nature Communications, Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, and by media outlets such as the BBC, National Geographic, and Wired. Truscott is committed to introducing “real world” research to his students, and his curriculum incorporates topics of relevance to both academia and industry. ​

Dr. Truscott’s work is unified by a passion for visualizing and quantifying fluid phenomena using advancedimaging techniques, including Synthetic Aperture Imaging Velocimetry (SAPIV), developed in part duringhis time with the U.S. Navy. His research program addresses four key areas: 1) Droplet Manipulation andTransport—including levitation-based bioassay automation to reduce plastic waste and contactcontamination; 2) Water Entry and Impact—studying the physics of large droplets and projectile impacts forboth biological and engineering applications; 3) Bubble and Cavitation Dynamics—mapping burstingacoustics for oil/gas separation, CO₂ sequestration and healthcare fluids; 4) Novel ExperimentalMethods—pioneering large-scale wind tunnels, high-speed visualizations and vision-based swarm analysis.These areas intersect to address real-world challenges such as fluid-driven coral farming optimization,high-throughput hydrogel testing, and contactless liquid handling for healthcare and biological testing.​