Student Profiles

I joined MIB in 2007 after obtaining MPhil in Cambridge and doing a work experience in Process Engineering at Kent. I was interested in Manchester because of the vibrancy of the city life whilst offering a unique opportunity for academic research. After submitting an application to the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, I was offered two PhD research positions of which I gladly accepted Dr. Xue-Feng Yuan’s project on Computational Rheology of Complex Fluids in Microfluidics because of my background in CFD.

My project focuses on studying the non-linear dynamics of polymeric fluids in complex microscopic flows such as contraction and cross-slot flows. The work is highly integrated with experimental techniques through a consortium project, which includes the School of Chemistry (Manchester), Physics Laboratory in Bristol and a company. The aim of the consortium is to fully characterise polymer solutions from molecular properties to rheometry and fluid dynamics including extensional rheology and birefringence through a combined computational and experimental approach. I am currently in the third and final year of my PhD and I have enjoyed both my research and experience in the City of Manchester.

So far I have had the opportunity to interact with people from a broad range of backgrounds including Biological scientists in MIB. I have also attended a number of conferences and interacted with top scientists in Rheology, which makes the whole PhD experience a very rewarding one. I have spent most of my precious time in the past 3years doing what I enjoy doing most – research. I also enjoy playing 5-aside Friday footy with my MIB mates and having one of the best teams in the MIB football tournament.