MechSE Welcomes New Associate Professor Sascha Hilgenfeldt

Sascha Hilgenfeldt joined MechSE this April as an associate professor. He comes to MechSE from Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where he was an associate professor with joint appointments in the Department of Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The author of more than 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters, Hilgenfeldt conducts theoretical and experimental research on the interfacial structure and dynamical evolution of soft condensed matter. He has elucidated fundamental processes in interface dynamics, including sonoluminescence and domain coarsening, and applied results to develop a new and powerful kind of microfluidic flow excitation.

He and other researchers at Northwestern University recently created a functional equation-using only two parameters-to show how cells pack together to create eyes in fruit flies. Their work, published online last January by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a quantitative model that, if it can be applied to different kinds of tissues, could lead to advances in regenerative medicine.

Hilgenfeldt's research has important implications for drug delivery, gene therapy and cell diagnostics, as well as generally enhancing understanding of the mechanics of life. He completed his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Marburg, Germany, in 1997.