Abstract:
Rheologically complex materials, with mechanical properties between those of fluids and solids, are fantastically useful, yet are underutilized in many fields. Numerous opportunities remain for more effective rheological design as well as transformative applications. This talk will present recent developments in the design and application of complex fluids to address longstanding deficiencies in the areas of pharmaceutical product and chemical manufacturing. For processes which have conventionally only considered simple fluidic manipulation, I show that the use of dramatically non-Newtonian fluids enables performance that would otherwise be unattainable.
Bio:
Arif Z. Nelson is an assistant professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in the Food, Chemical and Biotechnology cluster. He obtained is undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining SIT, he was a postdoctoral associate at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. His interests include rheology and the design of complex fluids, and the application of principles of soft matter to key technology areas including foods and pharmaceuticals. As part of an effort to make rheology education more accessible, he maintains "The Soft Matter Kitchen", an outreach initiative that uses food materials to discuss scientific concepts.
Host: Professor Randy Ewoldt
