Integrating Fluid Dynamics into the Undergraduate Physics Curriculum

Fluids permeate all of human existence, and fluid dynamics serves as a rich field of research for
many physicists. In the same vein as classical mechanics and electromagnetism, the study of
elementary fluid dynamics requires vector calculus and simple methods for solving differential
equations. In contrast to those fields, many other topics have displaced fluid dynamics from the
standard undergraduate physics curriculum, and programs featuring fluid dynamics even as an
upper division course are rare. We develop an approach to teaching fluid dynamics at an
undergraduate level that harmonizes with fields in the core curriculum, covering core ideas such
as flow, waves, vortex motion, and the Navier-Stokes Equations.