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SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: Pattern growth in flow-structured complex fluids
DTSTART:20231017T120000
DTEND:20231017T130000
DTSTAMP:20260505T101158Z
UID:b745e89f77b7d624f5d29949e66767356fb351d3a08e7c71b37a086a
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Irmgard Bischofberger\, MIT\nAbstract: Why is there so m
 uch structure\, order and texture to life and nature\, rather than a featu
 reless expanse? From microscopic snowflakes to coral reefs and large-scale
  river networks\, pattern formation leads to systems of extraordinary intr
 icacy and beauty. Understanding how a system spontaneously selects its ove
 rall structure remains an ongoing scientific challenge. In this talk\, we 
 will discuss two examples of how flows\, which push a material out of equi
 librium and might be expected to destabilize textures\, can instead struct
 ure complex fluids. We report the surprising emergence of chiral domains i
 n a flowing nematic liquid crystal despite the achiral nature of the mater
 ial. The chirality results from a periodic double-twist deformation of the
  liquid crystal and leads to striking stripe patterns vertical to the flow
  direction. In a second example\, we show how shear-induced force chains i
 n dense suspensions\, induced by injection of pressurized air\, lead to th
 e growth of fractures and a subsequent relaxation of the suspension.\n\nBi
 ography: Irmgard Bischofberger is an experimentalist working in the field
 s of fluid dynamics and soft condensed matter. She obtained her Ph.D. degr
 ee in Physics from the University of Fribourg and has been a postdoctoral 
 fellow in the Physics Department at the University of Chicago. She is curr
 ently an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering a
 t MIT. Her research interests include the spontaneous pattern formation fr
 om fluid instabilities and drying processes and non-equilibrium phenomena 
 in soft gels. Irmgard is passionate about communicating science to a dive
 rse audience and has a longstanding ‘Science and Arts’ collaboration w
 ith artists and musicians.\n 
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/61626448592
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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