Craig Snoeyink

In this talk, I will discuss our recent work in understanding and applying field-fluid interactions, particularly how dielectric polarization effects act to transport molecular solutes. This dielectrophoretic molecular transport mechanism is fairly unique, our results show that the electric fields will separate charged and uncharged species alike, transporting both from the electric field region. The transport rate is remarkably fast, I will show results suggesting transport rates of 55 mm/s, almost an order of magnitude faster than high-speed electrophoretic separation methods.   Perhaps most intriguing is that this transport is far stronger than equilibrium thermodynamic models would predict.  I will discuss our work on developing thermodynamic models for this transport mechanism and how a similar failure in predicting field-induced condensation hints that equilibrium thermodynamic models of field-fluid interactions are missing fundamental physics.

Dr. Snoeyink is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University at Buffalo. He is working on developing micro and nanoscale optical metrology techniques and utilizing them to study small-scall fluidic phenomena. His current active research projects include utilizing convolutional neural networks to increase precision and seeding density in 3D micro-PTV and stochastic super-resolution microscopy, active nanofluid cleaning mechanisms, and field-fluid interactions. His research has been supported by several funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, and is the recipient of a 2024 CAREER Award.

• Time: 11:00 AM
• Location: 206 Furnas Hall