Research Group Website

Research Presentation for Prospective Graduate Students

Educational Qualifications

British Petroleum Post-Doctoral Fellow, Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, UK (1991-1992)
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (1991)
M.S., Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (1987)
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Cornell University (1985)

Courses Taught

ChE 385m Surface Phenomena
ChE 348 Numerical Methods in Chemical Engineering
ChE 102 Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Research

My research focuses on the discovery and understanding of fundamental phenomena in the behavior of complex fluid and materials processing flows and applying this knowledge to modeling, design and use of industrial and natural processes.  In my research group, we are actively addressing these challenging issues using experimental, computational and theoretical tools, many of which are developed within the group.

Current areas of focus include:

•  The rheology, memory and aging of soft-particle pastes
•  Suspension transport
•  Microrheology and biomechanics of cancer cells
•  Immersion and imprint Lithography
•  Flow, reaction and transport in porous media
•  Theoretical design of polymer barrier materials

Research Recognition

• Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2011
• Fellowship of the American Physical Society, Division of Fluid Dynamics, 2006
• Journal of Rheology, Publication Award, 2004
• Packard Fellowship, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 1994
• NSF Young Investigator Award, 1993

Named Lectureships/Visiting Professorships

Michelin Professor, ESPCI, France (2011)
Julian C. Smith Lecturer, Cornell (2010)
Robert. W. Vaughn Lectureship, California Institute of Technology (2005)
Joliot-Curie Visiting Professor, ESPCI, France (2004)

Teaching Awards and University Recognition

• The University of Texas Best Research Paper Award, 2006
• T. Brockett Hudson Professor of Chemical Engineering, 2002-present
• Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. Award for Excellence in Engineering Teaching, 2001
• Most Outstanding Faculty Member in Chemical Engineering, 1997
• College of Engineering Faculty Leadership Award, 1996
• Texas Ex-Students Teaching Award, 1996
• Award for Outstanding Engineering Teaching by an Assistant Professor, 1995

Selected Publications

• Metin, C.O., Bonnecaze, R.T. & Nguyen, Q.P. 2011 Shear Rheology of Silica Nanoparticle Dispersions, Appl. Rheol. 21, 13146.
• Carranza, S., Paul, D.R. & Bonnecaze, R.T. 2010 Analytic design formulae for the design of reactive polymer blend barrier materials, J. Membrane Sci. J. Membrane Sci. 360, 1-8.
• Baker, E.L., Lu, J., Yu, D., Bonnecaze, R.T. & Zaman, M. H. 2010 Cancer cell stiffness: Integrated roles of matrix stiffness and transforming potential, Biophysical J. 99(7), 2048-57.
• Bonnecaze, R.T. & Cloitre, M. 2010 Micromechanics of Soft Particle Glasses, Adv. Polym. Sci. doi:10.1007/12.2010.90.

Affiliations

• Core Faculty, Nanomanufacturing Systems Center (NASCENT), an NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center
• Affiliated Faculty, The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
• Core Faculty, Texas Materials Institute (TMI)