• B.S. Physics, University of Washington, 1975
• Ph.D. Physics, University of Washington, 1982
• Postdoctoral Research:
  • Director's Postdoctoral Fellow, LANL, 1983-1986.
• Employment:
  • Technical Staff Member, Condensed Matter & Thermal Physics, 1986–present
  • Laboratory Fellow, 1997–present
  • Center Leader, Center for Nonlinear Studies, 2005–present.

Research Interests:

• Turbulence- Rayleigh-Benard convection, 2D turbulence, turbulent mixing and Lagrangian fluid dynamics, Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence.
• Granular materials - vibrated chains, avalanches, flow on an inclined plane
• Multiphase flows - moderate Re particle/fluid interactions

Selected Recent Publications:

1. G. Boffetta and R.E. Ecke Two-dimensional turbulence Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 44, 427 (2012).
2. S. Backhaus, K. Turitsyn, and R.E. Ecke Convective instability and mass transport of diffusion layers in a Hele-Shaw geometry Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 104501 (2011).
3. T. Borszonyi, R.E. Ecke and J.N. McElwaine Patterns in flowing sand: Understanding the physics of granular flow Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 178302 (2009).
4. Y. Liu and R.E. Ecke Heat transport measurements in turbulent rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection Phys. Rev. E 80, 036314 (2009).
5. P. Odier, J. Chen, M.K. Rivera, and R.E. Ecke Fluid mixing in stratified gravity currents: The Prandtl mixing length Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 134504 (2009).
6. T. Borszonyi, T.C. Halsey, and R.E. Ecke Two scenarios for avalanche dynamics in inclined granular layers Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 208001 (2008).
7. T. Borszonyi, T.C. Halsey, and R.E. Ecke Avalanche dynamics on a rough inclined plane Phys. Rev. E 78, 011306 (2008).
8. T. Borszonyi and R.E. Ecke Flow rule of dense granular flows down a rough incline Phys. Rev. E 76, 031301 (2007).
9. S.Y. Chen, R.E. Ecke, G.L. Eyink M.K. Rivera, M.P. Wan, and Z.L. Xiao Physical mechanism of the two-dimensional inverse energy cascade, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 084502 (2006).
10. M.K. Rivera and R.E. Ecke Pair dispersion and doubling time statistics in two-dimensional turbulence Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 194503 (2005).
11. R.E. Ecke The Turbulence Problem: An Experimentalist's Perspective Los Alamos Science 29, (2005).
12. S.Y. Chen, R.E. Ecke, G.L. Eyink, X. Wang, Z. Xiao Physical mechanism of the two-dimensional enstrophy cascade Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 214501 (2003).
13. M.K. Rivera, W.B. Daniel, S.Y. Chen, R.E. Ecke Energy and enstrophy transfer in decaying two-dimensional turbulence Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 104502 (2003).
14. P. Vorobieff, P & R.E. Ecke Turbulent rotating convection: an experimental study J. Fluid Mech. 458, 191 (2002).
15. Z.A. Daya, R.E. Ecke Does turbulent convection feel the shape of the container? Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 184501 (2001).
16. E. Ben-Naim, Z.A. Daya, P. Vorobieff, R.E. Ecke Knots and random walks in vibrated granular chains Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1414 (2001).
17. D.A. Egolf, I.V. Melnikov, W. Pesch, R.E. Ecke Mechanisms of extensive spatiotemporal chaos in Rayleigh-Benard convection Nature 404, 733 (2000).