3:47 p.m., Sept. 30, 2008----A paper co-authored by Eric Furst, associate professor of chemical engineering, has been selected to receive the Journal of Rheology 2008 Publications Award. The award was conferred at the XVth International Congress on Rheology in Monterey, California, in August.

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The paper documents work done by Furst and three of his students on the use of laser tweezers to measure the non-linear rheology of colloidal dispersions. Common examples of such complex fluids include coatings and paints, as well as biofluids such as blood, milk and egg whites.

These materials appear homogeneous at the macro-level but are microscopically disordered. The work reported by Furst and his students is an important contribution to the growing field of microrheology, which enables manipulation and characterization at the micro-level.

Research was initiated in this emerging field in the mid-1990s. Since then, a number of techniques have been developed to study the linear properties of complex fluids. However, the work done by Furst and his students has expanded the microrheology toolkit to enable the study of non-linear material response, which can be critical in the processing of complex fluids.

“These materials are strongly deformed during processing,” Furst says, “which has a significant impact on their final properties.”

The lead author on the paper was doctoral candidate Alex Meyer, but the manuscript also reflects the work of two undergraduate researchers. Brian Bush, now a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, and Andrew Marshall, who accepted a position with a local company after graduation, performed the preliminary measurements.

“This was a nice aspect of the work for me,” Furst says. “Not only is the research intellectually interesting but the award shows the impact undergrads can have on the work in our labs.”

Furst acknowledges that he “sort of stumbled” into the finding reported in the award-winning paper when he was doing research on the microrheology of gels under an NSF CAREER Award. “You don't always know where experimental work is going,” he says. “A lot of emphasis is placed on hypothesis-driven research, but sometimes it's just a question of seizing on a lucky observation in the lab.”

Norm Wagner, chairperson of the Department of Chemical Engineering, isn't willing to concede that Furst was just lucky.

“This is a major national award from the leading journal in the field,” he says. “Eric is recognized as a world leader in the emerging discipline of microrheology. While the work reported in JOR is still in the discovery phase, it has the potential to be of significant value in a range of complex fluid applications.”

Furst received an NSF grant last year to support further studies of non-linear microrheology based in part on the preliminary work reported in the paper. That research is being done in collaboration with Todd Squires and his students at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Furst received a bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University and master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University. He did postdoctoral work at the Institut Curie in Paris.

He currently has an experiment underway on magneto-rheological fluids on the International Space Station.

Article by Diane Kukich
Photo courtesy of the Society of Rheology