CAREER: Inertio-Capillary Dynamics of Particles at Interfaces

该奖项支持对固体颗粒在流体界面上运动的综合实验和理论研究。在足够小的尺度上，表面张力对颗粒运动的影响可能变得重要，例如，允许回形针在密度较高的情况下漂浮在水面上。虽然这样的静态情景一般都有很好的特征，但类似的动态情景在整个工业和自然环境中都会出现(例如空气中的污染物颗粒影响着雨滴)，研究要少得多。对界面上这种颗粒动力学的洞察对于一系列技术应用的进步至关重要，包括污染控制、快速制造、生物技术以及仿生和界面机器人技术。计划中的研究将与教育和外联活动密切结合，包括将本科生研究经验引入工程课程，并与当地营地和公共图书馆合作举办实践讲习班。该奖项支持了一项广泛的努力，以扩大在中间惯性-毛细管区的流体界面上的颗粒知识，该中间惯性-毛细管区位于研究较充分的静态平衡毛细管区和大规模惯性主导区之间。研究的焦点问题包括粒子碰撞、界面结合的粒子动力学以及驱动界面粒子的自推进和集体运动。这项研究工作将把新的最先进的实验与第一原理建模技术结合起来，并对每个具体的研究问题建立一致和一致的物理理解。除了研究结果外，作为这项工作的一部分开发的定制实验设计和方案以及教学材料将公开分享，因此可翻译用于其他研究、教学和示范背景。整个研究工作将与工程CURE(基于课程的本科生研究体验)课程的开发紧密结合在一起。在其他领域，已经表明，这种课程使学生能够发展与传统指导研究经验类似的有形和无形技能，但更具包容性和多样性。此外，研究活动将直接转化为动手演示和研讨会，将与当地营地、图书馆和其他组织合作执行，重点是让未被充分代表的群体参与科学和工程。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports integrated experimental and theoretical research on the motion of solid particles at a fluid interface. At sufficiently small scales, the effects of surface tension on particle motion can become important, for instance in allowing a paper clip to float on the surface of water despite being denser. While such static scenarios are well characterized generally, analogous dynamic scenarios arise throughout industry and nature (such as an airborne pollutant particle impacting a rain drop) and are far less studied. Insight into such particle dynamics at interfaces is critical to advancements in a range of technological applications, including pollution control, rapid manufacturing, biotechnology, and biomimetic and interfacial robotics. The planned research will be closely integrated with education and outreach activities including introducing undergraduate research experiences into the engineering curriculum and hands-on workshops in partnership with local camps and public libraries. This award supports a broad effort to expand the knowledge of particles at fluid interfaces in the intermediate inertio-capillary regime, situated between the more well studied static equilibrium capillary regime and the large-scale inertially dominated regime. The targeted problems of focus include particle impact, interface-bound particle dynamics, and self-propulsion and collective motion of driven interfacial particles. The research effort will combine novel state-of-the-art experiment with first-principle modeling techniques, and establish a coherent and consistent physical understanding for each of the specific research problems. In addition to the research findings, custom experimental designs and protocols, as well as pedagogical materials, developed as part of this work will be shared openly and thus translatable for use in other research, instruction, and demonstration contexts. The overall research efforts will be closely integrated with the development of an Engineering CURE (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience) course. In other fields, it has been shown that such courses allow students to develop comparable levels of tangible and intangible skills as to traditional mentored research experiences but be more inclusive and diverse. Furthermore, the research activities will directly translate to hands-on demonstrations and workshops that will be executed in partnership with local camps, libraries, and other organizations, with an emphasis on engaging underrepresented groups in science and engineering.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.