Howard A. Stone, Princeton University

Abstract

Fluid mechanics is often viewed as a mature scientific discipline. One of the remarkable aspects of the subject is its relevance to an enormous variety of phenomena. The designs of airplanes, sailing vessels, birds, insects, and fish are all largely determined by principles of fluid mechanics. The physiology of our bodies is impacted by fluid dynamics principles, whether we consider the movement of red blood cells that squeeze through the small capillaries of the microcirculation or the delivery of drugs orally or in the blood stream. Almost all industrial processing requires handling materials in the fluid state, whether we are making large meter-scale sheets of glass for the world’s skyscrapers or depositing thin, submicron thick films for coatings and lithographic processes. At the largest scales of life on earth we need to understand the fluid movements of air in the atmosphere, water in the oceans, and ice sheets in the arctic regions. Thus, the eternal relevance of fluid mechanics is linked to understanding all of life’s processes, spanning those that are natural, industrial, and planetary.

The subject is also one with surprises that provide intellectual challenges and important bridges to other disciplines. We will illustrate some of these themes in the world of small-scale viscous flows, such as arise when developing and utilizing the new technologies of microfluidics, when understanding mechanotransduction processes important to the function of red blood cells, and hydrodynamic effects important to the formation of biofilms. In this way we will gain exposure to a world of ideas relevant to industry, physiology, and environmental health.