Calendar of Events

Carlos Hidrovo, Ph.D., faculty candidate
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering University of Texas at Austin

Over the past three decades microscale systems have become ubiquitous in a myriad of applications. Most of the previous and current work has centered on inherently slow processes dominated by diffusion and viscous effects, and with relatively low interfacial energies (i.e., liquid-liquid, liquid-solid). However, as the performance envelope of these microsystems is stretched and they become an integral part of larger multi-scaled systems, the slow dynamics must be replaced by fast ones that enhance transport. In this talk, momentum and mass transport in multiphase microflows under high Reynolds and Peclet numbers conditions will be examined. First, the friction reduction characteristics of superhydrophobic surfaces in pressure driven non-Stokes microchannel flow will be explored. Secondly, a highly effective micromixing technique based on inertial droplet pair collisions and the novel fluorescence diagnostics technique used to characterize the coalescence process will be presented. Lastly, the mass transport of ionic species in a capacitive deionization (CDI) water desalination system for low and high electro-diffusion based Peclet number settings will be analyzed. In all instances it will be shown that the larger inertial and advective dynamics lead to unexpected behavior that can be exploited to enhance the performance of these systems.

BIO: Dr. Carlos Hidrovo is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT in 2001. Dr. Hidrovo worked as a Research Scientist in the 3D Optical Systems group at MIT and as a Research Associate in the micro Heat Transfer Laboratory at Stanford University before joining the faculty of UT Austin in September 2007. He is the recipient of a 2012 NSF CAREER Award from the Fluid Dynamics program, the 2008 DARPA Young Faculty Award, and the ASME 2001 Robert T. Knapp Award. Dr. Hidrovo research interests lie at the intersection of multiscale and multiphase flow and transport phenomena, surface tension interactions in micro/nanoengineered structures, and electrokinetic ion transport in porous media for applications in energy storage, portable biochemical diagnostics, thermal management, and water treatment system. He is also actively involved in developing novel imaging and diagnostic tools in these areas.

Monday, February 25, 2013
3:10 p.m., 134 FGH
Refreshments at 2:40 - 3:00 p.m. in 134 FGH