Davidson School of Chemical Engineering faculty members will co-advise two Purdue College of Engineering 2020 Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellows.

Dr. Osman Basaran, Burton and Kathryn Gedge Professor of Chemical Engineering, will co-advise Evgeniy Boyko (left), a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Along with Dr. Basaran, Evgeniy will be working with co-advisor Dr. Ivan Christov, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue, to explore fundamental fluid mechanical problems involving non-Newtonian fluids at the microscale. His research focuses on understanding and modeling microscale flow physics in the field of fluid-structure interaction and its coupling with electrokinetics.

“Professor Christov and I had been discussing for over a year as to how to go about starting an interdisciplinary research collaboration that required the expertise of both of us,” explained Dr. Basaran. “However, in order to be successful in this endeavor, we needed an exceptional young researcher to work on the project. The Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship made it possible for us to find and recruit just the right person!”

Dr. Julie Liu, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, will co-advise Aishwarya Menon (right), who completed her PhD in December 2019 in an interdisciplinary program within the Centre of Nanoscience and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Along with Dr. Liu, Aishwarya will be working with co-advisor Dr. Jonathan Wilker, Professor of Chemistry at Purdue, to develop a family of surgical adhesives for bonding soft tissues. Her research interests lie in the field of polymer materials with various applications including adhesives, self-healing materials, and stimuli-responsive materials.

"The Gilbreth Postdoc Fellowships offer a unique opportunity to recruit outstanding researchers to work on important interdisciplinary problems," said Dr. Liu. "Dr. Wilker and I have developed a number of different glues, and Aishwarya will enable us to accelerate the clinical application of these adhesives by interacting closely with clinicians and businesses. We are excited for her to join us at Purdue!"

The Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowships at Purdue Engineering are awarded in memory of Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth (left), Professor at Purdue from 1935-1948. A world-renowned pioneer in the application of psychology to industrial engineering, Dr. Gilbreth’s work epitomized interdisciplinary research and broader impact on industry and society.

The goal of the Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at Purdue Engineering is to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhDs for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training, and professional development.

The Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellows are selected not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements and proposed innovative interdisciplinary research but also for their potential for broader impact on industry and society. They undertake research with faculty mentors in different fields and participate in professional development activities tailored to their chosen path in academia.

Read the complete list of 2020 Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellows at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/Research/GilbrethFellowships/awardees/AllAwardees/2020

Sources:

Dr. Osman Basaran, obasaran@purdue.edu, (765) 494-4061

Dr. Julie Liu, julieliu@purdue.edu, (765) 494-1935