(12h) Engineering Micro-Flows:Integrated Experimental-Computational Approach

Microfluidic systems have emerged as powerful tools for controllable manipulation of micro-scale flows. Ease of fabrication together with high-speed visualization prompt rapid growth in applications of microfluidic tools. Single-phase microfluidics, which is used to guide biological suspensions inside microchannels without addition of an immiscible suspending fluid, can be utilized for flow cytometry, rare cell diagnostic, growth of biofilm streamers and extensional rheometry. Multi-phase, i.e droplet, microfluidic platforms bring together the precise liquid handling capabilities of microfluidics with unprecedented control over size uniformity and the production rate of droplets. Droplet microfluidics are used for micro-particle synthesis, droplet-based digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), droplet-based DNA sequencing, single-cell analysis and enzyme kinetic studies. Owing to the widespread use of microfluidics in various engineering applications, there is a critical demand for developing new microfluidic tools by relying on understanding the mechanisms of micro-scale flow. However, the fluid dynamics of suspensions and emulsions in complex geometries of microfluidics mean that experimental trials are the main approach to gain insight. The alternative path is utilizing both microfluidic experiments and mesoscale computational methods as interacting partners to address challenges of mixture flow at micro-scale.

A main thrust of my research will focus on developing novel platforms for micro-flow engineering enabled by microfluidic technology. I will employ micro-fabrication, microfluidics and microscopy techniques to accompany mesoscale simulations, in particular the lattice-Boltzmann Method (LBM). The insight provided by my integrated experimental-computational approach permits exploiting the inherent forces of the system, such as hydrodynamic and capillary forces, for developing easily deployable microfluidic devices. The outcome of my research will be applied to biomedical micro-filtration in single-phase microfluidics and on-chip liquid handling and droplet encapsulation systems for genomics, single-cell analysis and tissue engineering. Fundamental fluid dynamic questions which have hampered efficient integration of single-phase and multi-phase microfluidic, such as stochastic entrapment of components in each compartment, will be addressed through my efforts to develop microfluidic self-assembly and label-free sorting systems. On the computational front, I will apply the lattice-Boltzmann framework to micro-scale flow geometries to develop high quality computational models of mixture flow. By adding new modules to LBM using an object-oriented design and implementation framework, I will develop a software for micro-flow applications.

I have been working on my integrated microfluidics-LBM approach through my consistent experimental and computational research. The same line of work will be continued in my career as an assistant professor. I will use the capacity of single-phase microfluidic platforms to develop accurate on-chip micro-filtration tools for cancer diagnostic applications. The advantages of my proposed microfluidic filtration systems over other on-chip technologies, including the technology developed during my postdoctoral work, are smaller sample size and higher separation accuracy. I achieve this goal by utilizing the fluid dynamics of inertial mixture flow around obstacles in microchannels. I will also be focused on developing microchannel self-assembly systems for controlled encapsulation of components in microfluidic droplet generators. The inefficiency of the current on-chip technologies caused by stochastic entrapment will be resolved using my integrated experimental-computational approach. My third direction of research concerns with label-free sorting of droplets by exploiting hydrodynamic, capillary and magnetic forces. In addition to microfluidic experiments, the LBM simulations will assist to gain insight into the physics of micro-scale flow.

Teaching Interests:

I believe that modern engineering education should integrate computational methods throughout varied disciplines. Design tools such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks, simulation and scientific pogramming have a place in almost any course and should be introduced early and often during undergraduate education. With this in mind, I am interested and prepared to provide instruction for courses on the following topics, where I would develop a syllabus that included heavy integration of computational tools:

Undergraduate Level:

Physics and Applications of Microfluidics

Microfluidics Lab

Transport Phenomena

Applied Computational Methods in Science and Engineering

Graduate Level:

Advanced Fluid Dynamics

Rheology of Complex Fluids

Applied Microfluidics

Mesoscale Simulation Methods and Applications