Wednesday, October 24, 2018

OSCAR Student Mubeen Farukh Researches the Heat Transfer Capabilities of Bimetallic Nano Particles

My name is Mubeen Farukh and I am a senior at George Mason University majoring in Mechanical Engineering. My research is on the heat transfer capabilities of bimetallic nano particles about 2 micrometers in length (a human hair is about 100 micrometers in diameter). I became interested in nano-particle after my research professor, Dr. Moran,  introduced their potential in an introductory presentation. He explained how they are self-propelled due to a redox reaction with hydrogen peroxide solution. This results in the particles ‘swimming’ in the solution, which in turn induces mixing of the solution.  As I got involved in the research, I learned about the potential uses of self- propelled nano-particles for targeted drug delivery, along with electronics and machine cooling.

This research is related to fluid mechanics, and particle interactions with the surrounding fluids. I plan on working in the field of fluid mechanics using the same (or similar) software that I am currently using for my nano-particles research. Participating in this research has allowed me greater access to professional insight into the field as well as software experience which I can build on later in my career.

A lot of my work involves reading and dissecting papers written by other researchers in the field of self-propelled nano-particles. On a day to day basis, I work on reading scholarly articles that mention self-propelled particles of various shapes (round, cylindrical), sizes, materials, and with different end goals, usually other than heat transfer. I communicate with my research professor via email and bi-weekly meetings on campus. Some of my work also involves working with COMSOL Multiphysics software to simulate simplified nano-particles and their behavior.


One important takeaway from my research this summer is the level of detail with regards to nano – particles. The physics at the nano scale requires a higher level of precision to deliver accurate simulation results.