Advisor: S. Garroff, Physics.
Wetting
of a solid by a liquid is ubiquitous in nature
and technology. While we see wetting and
use it all the time, we do not have a good fundamental
understanding of it. The difficulties arise
because the behavior of the fluid on the nanoscale
near where the solid, liquid and gas meet – the “contact
line” – controls what we see on the
millimeter scale. But understanding how fluids
behave in that nanoscale region is an unsolved
challenge. When we add surfactants (soap-like
molecules) or polymers into the fluid, we get rich
new wetting behaviors.
During
the summer, you will have the opportunity to join
in research on one of a number of questions presently
under investigation in the group. You will
use simple chemical procedures, optical microscopes,
digital image processing, and mostly a keen eye
and mind to see trends in complex patterns. Our
investigations develop the scientific underpinning
for processes that range from enhancing aerosol
drug therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis
to depositing new nanoscale structures of nanoparticle
and organic materials. |
