The nucleation of a new phase within another occurs in many natural phenomena as well as engineering processes of relevance to industry. In particular, we look at:
- Ice formation and growth (e.g. to design next-generation icephobic coatings)
- Boiling and cavitation, (e.g. for novel drug delivery and better two-phase cooling)
Interfacial phenomena is the study of the physics involving the boundary between two phases, which determines the dynamics of the phases, as well as transport between them. In particular, we look at:
- Droplet technologies (e.g. to study self-cleaning natural surfaces)
- Interfacial heat transfer (e.g. to design better thermal management solutions)
Porous media flows is the study of fluid flow through porous structures. Many open problems involving porous flows are highly relevant to next-generation industrial applicatons, such as:
- CO2 injection & storage
- Shale gas extraction
- Water nanofiltration
