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Events for April 09, 2009

  • How to Find a Job in a Recession

    Thu, Apr 09, 2009 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Worried about finding a job or internship in this economy? Come learn about job search strategies that work during slow economic periods. Viterbi Career Services will present general tips and specific best practices for engineering students. We hope to see you there!

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211

    Audiences: All Viterbi Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

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  • Microfluidic Actuation by Thermocapillary Forces: Fundamentals, Devices and Sensing Arrays

    Thu, Apr 09, 2009 @ 12:45 PM

    Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Lyman Handy Colloquium SeriesPresents Sandra Troian Professor of Applied Physics, Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering. Caltech, Pasadena CA 91125. Abstract:
    Liquid elements with dimensions in the micron to nanometer range manifest exceedingly large surface to volume ratios and are therefore highly susceptible to flow induced by surface stresses. This feature has been used to direct the motion of small, free surface liquid structures for micro-, bio- and optofluidic applications. Both normal and tangential stresses can be used to steer, mix, meter or shape liquid structures on demand. When such structures exhibit an effective zero Reynolds number and small aspect ratio, then inertial forces and phase lag are negligible and the liquid responds instantaneously to boundary stresses. Any time dependence of the flow is then strictly due to actuation of the bounding surfaces. These limits constitute the so-called slender gap approximation used here to investigate thermocapillary actuation of liquid elements with the potential for direct-write of 3D nanostructures. This possibility arises from analysis of several experiments conducted during the past decade in which molten nanoscale polymer films subject to an ultra large transverse gradient undergo spontaneous formation of nanopillar arrays. The formation of these self-assembling protrusions has been attributed to a Casimir-like radiation pressure caused by interfacial reflections of acoustic phonons. We demonstrate instead that thermocapillary stresses play a crucial if not dominant role in this formation process. Simulations of the governing interface equation, used to specify the pillar spacing and time-dependent height, are used to explore construction of nanoscale components for optical and photonic applications.

    Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Petra Pearce Sapir

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