Theory of Fluids, Phase Transitions, and Interfaces

康奈尔大学的本杰明·维多姆受到理论和计算化学项目的支持，致力于流体、相变和界面理论的研究。他将扩展对二元流体中界面张力的理解，继续在疏水性领域的努力，并研究由两种聚合物和一种溶剂组成的相分离溶液的界面。他的理论方法依赖于经典的密度泛函理论，以及统计、力学和热力学分析。由于原子大溶质分子与溶剂之间复杂的相互作用，这一领域的进展既及时又困难。这一领域的工作对理解生物过程很重要，并已被证明对环境友好的石油开采方法有用。该项目将确定两种不同聚合物混合或分离成两种液体所需的条件。这样的理解对于制定石油开采环境友好型方法的战略是必要的。了解与聚合物和水之间的排斥(例如疏水性)相关的机制和表现将产生关键的见解，并确定计算生物学新兴领域的重要问题。特别是，疏水作用力是蛋白质折叠的主要原因。

Benjamin Widom at Cornell University is supported by the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to pursue research on the theory of fluids, phase transitions and interfaces. He will extend the understanding of interfacial tensions in binary fluids, continue efforts in the area of hydrophobicity, and investigate the interfaces of phase-separated solutions consisting of two polymers and a solvent. His theoretical approach relies on classical density-functional theory coupled with statistical mechanical and thermodynamical analyses. Progress in this field is both timely and difficult due to the complicated interactions between atomistically large solute molecules and the solvent. Work in this area is important to the understanding of biological processes and has proved to be useful in environmentally friendly methods for oil recovery.This project will determine the conditions needed for two disparate polymers to mix together or separate into two liquids. Such an understanding is necessary for developing strategies for environmentally friendly means for oil recovery. Understanding the mechanisms and manifestations associated with the repulsion between polymers and water (e.g., hydrophobicity) will yield key insights and identify important questions in the emerging field of computational biology. In particular, hydrophobic forces are primarily responsible for protein folding.