New phononic subsurface designs could help control aircraft turbulence more broadly and predictably without reshaping the vehicle.

At cruising speed, a passenger jet can travel around 640 mph while its wings push through turbulent air along their surfaces. That boundary layer turbulence can increase drag, making flight less efficient and requiring more fuel.

Mahmoud I. Hussein is exploring a different way to control that airflow. Rather than changing the external shape of an aircraft, his research uses engineered microscopic vibrations generated by synthetic materials beneath the surface, with the goal of reducing turbulence and improving fuel efficiency.