Abdollah Koolivand Wins J.M. Burgers Program Award

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Koolivand beside his poster at the 2016 symposium.

On November 16, Ph.D. Candidate won an award for the best poster at the 13th Annual Symposium of the Burgers Program for Fluid Dynamics at UMD. His poster, entitled, "Motion of a Spheroidal Capsule in a Rectangular Microfluidic Channel," represents research that focuses on the dynamics and deformation of soft particles.

"We've shown that the non-spherical capsule deforms similarly to that of a spherical capsule in microfluidic channels, but can recover their original shapes after they get delivered to the target area. Thus, the non spherical capsules are better candidates for smart drug delivery purposes since they show better resistance against internalization by the immune system," Koolivand said. "Understanding the rheological behavior of micro-capsules helps to design better carrier for different industrial sectors such as cosmetic products, food and medical industries. Also, some of the biological cells such as red blood cells, can be modeled as capsules and studying their dynamical behavior may provide useful physical insight for early diagnosis of relevant diseases." 

The goal of the symposium, named in honor of Dutch physicist Jan Martinus Burgers, is to enhance the quality and international visibility of fluid dynamics research and educational programs at the University of Maryland with the help of an endowed Burgers Fund. Fluid dynamics in this context is viewed to include a broad range of dynamics, from nanoscales to geophysical scales, in simple and complex fluids.

Koolivand is a GRA in the Biofluid Dynamics Laboratory and is advised by ChBE Associate Professor Panagiotis Dimitrakopoulos.

 

Published December 5, 2016