Titled “Dripping, jetting, drops and wetting: The magic of microfluidics,” the lecture discussed the use of microfluidic devices to precisely control the flow and mixing of fluids to make drops, which have a multitude of valuable uses.
“They can be used to create new materials that are difficult to synthesize with any other method,” according to Weitz’s abstract. “These materials exhibit fascinating physical properties and have great potential for practical uses.”
He demonstrated how the exquisite control afforded by microfluidic devices provides enables technology to use droplets as microreactors to perform reactions at remarkably high rates using very small quantities of fluids. This allows them to be used to explore fundamental properties of systems biology, and to be used for new types of diagnostic instrumentation.
Weitz received his PhD in physics from Harvard University and then joined Exxon Research and Engineering Company, where he worked for nearly 18 years. He then became a professor of physics at the University of Pennsylvania and moved to Harvard at the end of the last millennium as professor of physics and applied physics. He leads a group studying soft matter science with a focus on materials science, biophysics and microfluidics. Several startup companies have come from his lab to commercialize research concepts.
The lecture honors Alwin Schaller, an engineering pioneer and civic leader who completed his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1907 and his master’s degree in 1912. In the early stages of pressure flooding in oil fields, he studied the effect of adding heat on secondary recovery. His was the first article on the subject ever published in a technical journal, and led to the widespread adoption of thermal recovery.
He established the Alwin Schaller Endowment Fund in memory of the late mechanical engineering professor George Alfred Goodenough, whom he described as “a major force” in shaping his career. Recognized as an expert in the field of thermodynamics, Professor Goodenough’s interest in specific heat values of gases led him to what was perhaps the first sound thermodynamic analysis of internal combustion engine processes.
The lecture was held January 24, 2018 in the NCSA auditorium.