Project Description
Self-propulsion at the micrometer or nanometer scale is ubiquitous in biological systems around and within us. Inspired by this biological phenomena, there has been immense interest in creating synthetic microswimmers, i.e. self-propelling particles. However, most of the computational studies in this domain are limited to spheroidal or cylindrical particles. Thus there exists a gap in our understanding of how an interplay between the particle geometry and surface activity could influence its motion. Through this project, the student will try to understand how particle trajectories could be influenced by its shape. They will obtain a degree of proficiency in computational modelling of such arbitrary particle shape systems using the principles of micro-hydrodynamics and transport phenomena. They will also get exposed to techniques of stochastic modelling of particle motion. The work will primarily be done in Julia and with the aim to get the student conversant enough in Julia to independently develop and implement algorithms, operate, and handle large data sets.
Special Requirements
A background in coding though desired is not necessary. Furthermore, a basic understanding of fluid mechanics, high-school level calculus and linear algebra would help.
Contact
- Ankur Gupta (faculty)
- Arkava Ganguly (graduate student)