Amish Patel Receives ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award

Amish Patel Receives ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award

Amish Patel, Reliance Industries Term Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been selected to receive the OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from the Computers in Chemistry (COMP) Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The award is designed to assist new faculty members in gaining visibility within the COMP community.

Each awardee will receive $1,000 and will present their research at the COMP poster session at the ACS National Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in August 2018. Patel will present his work on the computational design of superhydrophobic surfaces.

These surfaces repel water because droplets can sit on top of pillars of roughness in the so-called “Cassie state,” allowing them to more easily roll away. However, under certain conditions, droplets can break through to the surface below the pillars and stick there, in what is known as the “Wenzel state.”

Patel’s new research simulates nano-textured surfaces where this Wenzel state is unstable, making “dewetting” possible.

“Such robust surfaces, which defy classical expectations and can spontaneously recover their superhydrophobicity,” Patel says, “could have widespread importance, from underwater operation to phase-change heat transfer applications.”

In general, Patel and his group strive to achieve a molecular-level understanding of solvation and transport in aqueous and polymeric systems, for applications ranging from water purification to renewable energy. One particular interest is the design of advanced materials. Patel and his group use molecular modeling and atomistic simulation techniques to design surface textures for superhydrophobic materials, with properties like water-repellency, fouling resistance, and the ability to self-clean.

To learn more about Patel and his research, visit his faculty profile.