Dr. Nadia Bali
I build computational models of momentum, heat and mass transfer, working closely with experimental teams to understand and design better energy-storage materials, cleaner soil and water, and healthier indoor environments.
Bridging theory, simulation and experiment
I studied Physics and then Chemical Engineering at the University of Patras, where I completed my MSc and PhD in collaboration with the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (ICE-HT/FORTH). My doctoral work modelled a cold-plasma reactor for soil remediation, and that mix of fluid flow, chemistry and porous media has shaped everything since.
Today I am a postdoctoral researcher at ICE-HT/FORTH and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Peloponnese. I combine first-principles CFD and multiphysics models with image-based 3D reconstruction (micro-CT, FIB-SEM), reduced-order models and machine learning, always alongside the people running the experiments.
I enjoy working across disciplines and cultures. I can contribute to a team, lead a collaborative project or work independently.
- Now
- Postdoctoral Researcher, ICE-HT/FORTH
Adjunct Lecturer, University of Peloponnese - Education
- PhD Chemical Engineering (Excellent), 2019
MSc Chemical Engineering, 2014
BSc Physics, 2012, University of Patras - Memberships
- Electrochemical Society (ECS)
InterPore - Based in
- Greece
What I work on
Porous electrodes
Ion, charge and heat transport in battery and supercapacitor electrodes; tortuosity and structure–transport relationships.
Flow in porous media
Single- and multiphase reactive flow, pore-network and direct numerical simulation on 3D-reconstructed structures.
Indoor air & exposure
Air flow, thermal plumes and particle dispersion indoors, linked to digital twins for human-exposure assessment.
Soil & water remediation
Fate and transport of emerging contaminants such as PFAS, and plasma, ozonation and photocatalytic treatment.
Current work
GRAPHERGIA
Pilot lines for sustainable graphene-based flexible energy harvesting and storage devices. I develop CFD-based electrochemical models of coupled ion, charge and heat transport in porous battery electrodes.
University of Peloponnese
Independent teaching of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Fluid Mechanics I, Simulation of Energy Systems, Water Treatment and Fire Engineering, plus supervision of diploma theses on batteries and flow cells.
Next-generation batteries
Transport modelling of zinc batteries for long-duration storage and image-based tortuosity studies of nanostructured electrodes, with joint publications in preparation.
CEN Workshop Agreement CWA 18407
An introductory Human-Centric Exposure Modelling (H-CEM) method for estimating personal exposure to indoor PM2.5, which grew out of the TwinAIR project.
Selected past projects
TwinAIR: indoor air digital twin
CFD pollutant-transport models inside buildings and vehicles, a human-centric exposure model, and ultrafine-particle exposure protocols for a digital-twin platform.
EMPHASIS: carbon electrodes
3D numerical reconstructions and electrochemical CFD models for supercapacitors: effective diffusivity, tortuosity and ion transport.
SCENARIOS: PFAS in soil
Reconstruction of a former firefighting training site in Korsør, Denmark, and models of PFAS transport through soil and possible remediation routes.
Cold plasma for soil & water
Plasma–fluid–species models for treating contaminated soil and wastewater (POSEIDON and related projects), building on my PhD reactor model.
Germ of Life: drought risk
Statistical analysis of climate indices and pilot-station data to support drought-risk prediction in Mediterranean ecosystems.
Metamaterial Inc. (London)
CFD modelling of heat transfer in a biosensor system for measuring blood glucose.
JOINTPROMISE & PHOTOWATER
CFD for cell growth in regenerative medicine, and reactive-transport modelling of an energy-autonomous photocatalytic wastewater unit.
Accessible science (G4ViD, SSSD-HE)
Tools that open science to people with disabilities, including aural software for the visually impaired and an e-course on assistive technologies.
Teaching & mentoring
Courses I teach
- Fluid Mechanics I ~150 students
- Computational Fluid Dynamics ~70 students
- Simulation of Energy Systems ~30 students
- Water Treatment Technologies ~30 students
- Fire Engineering ~30 students
Earlier: teaching assistant in Numerical Methods and Chemical Thermodynamics, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras (2013–2016).
Students I supervise
- PhD candidate 1, ongoing
- MSc students 2
- Diploma theses on batteries & flow cells 4
- Student research projects (ML, thermal models) 3
Selected publications
- Remediation of water from PFOA with ozonation and photocatalysis: experimental studies and numerical modelingProcess Safety and Environmental Protection, 2025
- Human-centric approach for determination of thermal plume theoretically and experimentallyIEEE ETFA, Porto, 2025
- An artificial neural network toward simulating the treatment of wastes in multiphase reactors by ozonationChemical Engineering Journal, 2023
- Modeling of a DBD plasma reactor for porous soil remediationChemical Engineering Journal, 2019
- Hierarchical modeling of plasma and transport phenomena in a dielectric barrier discharge reactorJournal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2017
- Three-dimensional reconstruction of bioactive membranes and pore-scale simulation of enzymatic reactionsJournal of Membrane Science, 2017
Several more manuscripts are under review on porous electrodes and indoor aerosol transport. Full list: ORCID.
Highlights
Looking up: astronomy & outreach
A long-time member of the Orion Astronomical Organization in Patras, I enjoy bringing science to the public.
InDRA
Principal Investigator of Interdisciplinary Radio Astronomy (IAU Office of Astronomy for Development), building a radio telescope's hardware and software.
DarkSkySim
An open-design simulator showing how light pollution fades the stars. I wrote the C++/Arduino code. darkskysim.com
Orion Astronomical Org.
Board member and former finance officer and secretary, helping organise national amateur-astronomy conferences and expeditions.
Let's talk
I'm always happy to discuss collaborations, student projects or modelling questions.