Speaker: Dr. Arun Kumar Kota, Associate Professor, North Carolina State University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Title: Superomniphobic Surfaces: Design & Applications
Abstract: Recent years have seen significant advances in understanding super-repellent surfaces, i.e., surfaces with extreme repellency to liquids. Surfaces with extreme repellency to water are considered to be superhydrophobic. Surfaces with extreme repellency to virtually any liquid – aqueous or organic; Newtonian or non-Newtonian; with low or high viscosity; with low or high surface tension; acids, bases, or solvents; monomers, oligomers or polymers, etc. – are considered to be superomniphobic. In this presentation, I will discuss the fundamental physical and chemical principles of designing superomniphobic surfaces. Building on these fundamental principles, I will discuss our work on utilizing superomniphobic surfaces for applications including chemical shielding, inexpensive sensors, anti-thrombotic implants, and enhanced condensation heat transfer.
Biography: Dr. Kota received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland. Prior to joining Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University. He received the NSF Career Award, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award, George T. Abell Outstanding Early-Career Faculty Award, Teaching Excellence Award from CSU, and Summer Faculty Fellowship from AFOSR. His work has so far resulted in 6 patents and 50+ journal publications, which were cited 4000+ times, and was highlighted by Bloomberg TV, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Forbes, etc.