(6fg) Achieving Next-Level Transport with Soft Matter and Interfaces

We often rely on the use of gradients, such as thermal gradients for power generation or concentration gradients for chemical processing. Our command of transport behavior, however, is quite rudimentary when compared to the sophisticated transport found in the natural world (e.g. ion pumping against concentration gradients in cell membranes, aerosol production at the ocean-air interface, water harvesting by beetles). Inspired by nature, I intend to advance our understanding of transport by studying gradients in the presence of colloids, polymers, interfaces, biomatter, and active matter.

My goal as a professor is to achieve next-level transport capabilities across temperature, concentration, and momentum gradients by focusing on three areas:

• Molecular engineering of interfaces using surfactants^1,2 and nanoparticles³ for the development new drug delivery methods
• Phase-change heat transfer¹ and storage⁴ for power generation/distribution and water harvesting
• Mass transport and fluid mechanics through complex porous media⁵ and soft materials⁶ to enhance groundwater remediation

I will take a multifaceted approach to study fundamental problems: a combination of novel experimentation with a particular focus on optical techniques and computer simulations at multiple scales. This provides both a top-down and bottom-up interpretation of physical phenomena, allowing us to develop rich physical insights. These insights will ultimately help us to better inform and develop technologies in the biotech, energy, and environmental spaces.

Selected References:

[1] H.J. Cho, J.P. Mizerak, E.N. Wang, “Turning bubbles on and off during boiling using charged surfactants,” Nature Communications, 2015.

[2] H.J. Cho, V. Sresht, E.N. Wang, “Predicting Surface Tensions of Surfactant Solutions from Statistical Mechanics,” Langmuir, 2018.

[3] C. Tian, J. Feng, H.J. Cho, S.S. Datta, R.K. Prud’homme, “Adsorption and denaturation of structured polymeric nanoparticles at an interface,” in review.

[4] H. Kim, H.J. Cho, S. Narayanan, S. Yang, H. Furukawa, S. Schiffres, X. Li, Y. Zhang, J. Jiang, O.M. Yaghi, E.N. Wang, “Characterization of adsorption enthalpy of novel water-stable zeolites and metal-organic frameworks,” Scientific Reports, 2016.

[5] H.K. Mutha, H.J. Cho, M. Hashempour, B.L. Wardle, C.V. Thompson, E.N. Wang, “Salt rejection in flow-between capacitive deionization devices,” Desalination, 2018.

[6] H.J. Cho, M.P. Howard, N.B. Lu, S.S. Datta, “Cracking and healing of hydrogel suspensions,” in preparation.

Teaching Interests:

Teaching is a core reason why I seek a faculty position. In the past, I have found great satisfaction mentoring numerous students from the high-school to PhD levels, guest lecturing, and attending teaching/mentoring workshops. In order to successfully inspire students and equip them for research or the workplace, a key aspect of my teaching approach will be to promote more interaction beyond the traditional lecture and to incorporate more open-ended assignments. This way, I can cater to different learning styles and instill a rich physical intuition of the subject matter. I would like students to invoke questions like, “what is happening physically?” rather than “which equation do I need to use to ‘plug and chug?’” By incorporating discussions, writing assignments, and projects, I believe students will develop communication skills, metacognition, and creativity.

Classes that I would be naturally inclined to teach would be thermodynamics, physical chemistry, heat and mass transfer, and fluid mechanics. I would also be interested in developing courses in molecular simulation and imaging/microscopy techniques.