Vivek Oommen is a University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) Staff Fellow, working with the institute’s Fusion Technology and Materials for Extreme Environments Convergent Research Initiative. He works in the Workflow Systems Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

His research focuses on scientific machine learning, particularly the development of neural operators, generative models, and physics-informed machine learning methods to accelerate scientific simulations. His current research involves developing efficient neural surrogates for tungsten surface morphology evolution and turbulent flows of electrically conducting fluids under applied magnetic fields, with an emphasis on capturing multiscale physical phenomena.

Prior to joining ORNL, Oommen conducted his doctoral research at Brown University under the supervision of Professor George Em Karniadakis. His research focused on developing machine learning approaches for computational mechanics, turbulent flows, and materials science. In particular, he investigated the integration of neural operators with generative models to mitigate spectral bias and improve the computational efficiency of scientific simulations.

Oommen earned his Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in Fluid and Thermal Sciences, from Brown University in 2026. He previously earned a dual degree comprising a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Data Science from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2021.

Education