Select a calendar:
Filter February Events by Event Type:
SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for the 2nd week of February
-
Center for Systems and Control (CSC@USC) and Ming Hsieh Institute for Electrical Engineering
Mon, Feb 05, 2018 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Douglas Smith, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Talk Title: AFOSR -“ Unsteady Aerodynamics and Turbulent Flows: An Introduction
Abstract: This presentation will give a brief introduction to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the Unsteady Aerodynamics and Turbulent Flows portfolio at AFOSR. The Unsteady Aerodynamics and Turbulent Flows portfolio is interested in basic research problems associated with the motion and control of laminar, transitional and turbulent flows, including the interactions of these flows with rigid and flexible surfaces. The portfolio seeks to advance fundamental understanding of complex, time-dependent flow interactions by integrating theoretical/analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches. The focus on the understanding of the fundamental flow physics is motivated by an interest in developing physically-based predictive models and innovative control concepts for these flows. Research in this portfolio is motivated by, but not limited to, applications including unique fluid-structure interactions, vortex and shear layer flows, and the enduring challenges of turbulence.
Biography: Dr. Douglas Smith is the Program Officer for the Unsteady Aerodynamics and Turbulent Flows portfolio at AFOSR. Dr. Smith received his ScB in Engineering from Brown University in 1987 and his MA and PhD from Princeton University in 1990 and 1993, respectively. After completing his doctorate, Dr. Smith spent two and a half years as a post-doctoral researcher in Europe, first at Institut de Mecanique Statistique de la Turbulence (IMST) in Marseille, France, and then at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. Following these two positions, Dr. Smith was a Georgia Tech post-doctoral fellow working on active flow control concepts with the Boeing Phantom Works group in St. Louis. Prior to his arrival at AFOSR, Dr. Smith was an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wyoming.
Host: Mihailo Jovanovic, mihailo@usc.edu
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos
-
From Flocking Birds to Swarming Bacteria: A Study of the Dynamics of Active Fluids
Tue, Feb 06, 2018 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Xiang Cheng, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
Talk Title: From Flocking Birds to Swarming Bacteria: A Study of the Dynamics of Active Fluids
Series: Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of Things
Abstract: Active fluids are a novel class of non-equilibrium complex fluids with examples across a wide range of biological and physical systems such as flocking animals, swarming microorganisms, vibrated granular rods, and suspensions of synthetic colloidal swimmers. Different from familiar non-equilibrium systems where free energy is injected from boundaries, an active fluid is a dispersion of large numbers of self-propelled units, which convert the ambient/internal free energy and maintain non-equilibrium steady states at microscopic scales. Due to this distinct feature, active fluids exhibit fascinating and unusual behaviors unseen in conventional complex fluids. Here, by combining high-speed confocal microscopy, holographic imaging, rheological measurements and biochemical engineering, we experimentally investigate the dynamics of active fluids. In particular, we use E. coli suspensions as our model system and illustrate three unique properties of active fluids, i.e., (i) abnormal rheology, (ii) enhanced diffusion of passive tracers and (iii) emergence of collective swarming. Based on theoretical tools of fluid mechanics and statistical mechanics, we develop a quantitative understanding of these interesting behaviors. Our study illustrates the general organizing principles of active fluids that can be exploited for designing "smart" fluids with controllable fluid properties. Our results also shed new light on fundamental transport processes in microbiological systems.
Biography: Xiang Cheng received his B.S. in physics from Peking University in China in 2002. He then moved to U.S. and obtained his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 2009. He worked as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Physics at Cornell University from 2009 to 2013. He is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Cheng has received several academic awards, including NSF Career Award, Packard Fellowship, DARPA Young Faculty Award, 3M non-tenured faculty award and McKnight Land-Grant Professorship. His research group studies experimental soft materials physics, with a special focus on the emergent flow behaviors of soft materials and their associated mesoscopic structures and dynamics. Particularly, his research interests include the rheology of colloidal suspensions and granular flows, hydrodynamics of active fluids and dynamics of liquid-drop impact processes.
Host: Professor Paul Bogdan
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Talyia White