THE LEVICH INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING SEMINAR

Tuesday, 09/26/2000 4:00 PM Steinman Hall, Room #1M-22 Professor Mark Robbins Department of Physics and Astronomy Johns Hopkins University "Simulations of Contact Line Motion on Disordered Surfaces"

ABSTRACT

The equations of motion for contact lines on disordered surfaces were solved numerically. The amount of contact-angle hysteresis, morphology of the contact line, and contact-line velocity were studied as a function of the strength and distribution of the disorder. Near the onset of motion, the contact-line is a self-affine fractal characterized by a roughness exponent of 0.4. Critical exponents describing the onset of motion, were determined using finite-size scaling. The exponents are universal and will be compared to renormalization group calculations and experiment.

BRIEF ACADEMIC/EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

• PhD Berkeley, 1983, Postdoc Exxon 1983-1985,
• 1986 - present Assistant, Associate and now Full Professor in Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University

RECENT RESEARCH INTERESTS:

• Molecular origins of friction
• Adhesion
• Spreading
• Dynamics of interfaces in disordered systems

Return to Fall, 2000 Seminar Schedule