Daniels Nonlinear Lab

Overview

We conduct experiments on nonequilibrium/nonlinear systems including granular materials, gels, surfactants, and thin liquid films. Active areas of investigation include:

granular materials: phase transitions, statistical mechanics, sound propagation, and segregation

fracture in complex fluids

laboratory models of geophysical processes

surfactant-driven instabilities in thin liquid films

Contact Information

Dr. Karen Daniels	258C Riddick Lab	919-513-7921
Lab	229-234 Riddick Lab	919-513-7965 or -1472
Offices	251-252 Riddick Lab	919-513-3914
Jennifer Outlaw (administrative support)	421 Riddick Lab	919-513-7200
Main Physics Office	421 Riddick Lab	919-515-2521

Mailing Address
Dept. of Physics
Box 8202
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695

Shipping Address
Dept. of Physics
421 Riddick Lab
2401 Stinson Dr.
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695

Directions

We are located in the Physics Department in Riddick Lab (see campus map) on the main campus of NC State University, at 2401 Stinson Dr. If you drive to campus, the information booth (marked by a star on the campus map) will direct you to parking. The closest parking deck to Riddick is the Cates Avenue "Coliseum" Deck (cross under the tracks using the nearby tunnel, then turn right to face Riddick). Our offices/labs are on the 2nd floor.

You can purchase and print your parking permit ahead of time here so that you do not have to visit the information booth before parking.

News from the Lab

The Max Planck Institute for Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany will host a workshop entitled "Particulate Matter: Does Dimensionality Matter?" organized by Patrick Charbonneau, Karen Daniels, and Matthias Schroeter from May 31 - June 4, 2010. [Link] (October 2009)
Congratulations to sophomore Adam Keith and junior Kate Foco for winning Undergraduate Research Awards which will support their work in the lab. (October 2009)
Read mathematics PhD student Ellen Peterson's article on what happens when mathematicians go into a physics lab (ours): [Link] (Sept 2009)
First-year graduate student Carlos Ortiz was awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship to support his research on jamming in microfluidic systems, which he will also be carrying out in collaboration with Prof. Robert Riehn. (May 2009)
Senior Laura Golick received the Physics Department's "Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in Research", and senior Philip Boyne received the "Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in Scholarly Achievement" at the Graduation ceremony. Laura will be pursuing at PhD in physics Emory University, and Philip will be teaching high school physics. (May 2009)
Our submission to the APS Gallery of Nonlinear Images was awarded an Honorable Mention at the APS March Meeting. Watch it here: [APS] [Local Copy] (March 2009)
The Jackson School of Geosciences (UT-Austin) provides a lay summary of our work on the granular behavior of faults: [Link] (January 2009)
Congratulations to sophomore Melissa Fender and junior Adele Lichtenberger for winning Undergraduate Research Awards. (November 2008)
Kasey Phillips has been awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship. She will first attend the University of Cambridge to study Applied Mathematics, after which she will move to Harvard University to pursue a PhD in Applied Physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. (May 2008)
Coverage of our work with Bob Behringer at Duke University on shaken and sheared granular materials recently appeared in Science (March 2006)

Thin Fluids Day 2009

Saturday, January 10, 2009

314 Riddick, NCSU

Schedule

10 am Gather for coffee and tea in the Riddick Hearth (3rd floor)
Morning Session
- 10:10 Karen Daniels (NCSU): Introductions
- 10:15 Dave Fallest (NCSU): Fluorescence imaging of a surfactant spreading on a glycerine layer
- 10:40 Ellen Peterson (NCSU): Flow of thin films with surfactant: behavior of perturbations
- 11:05 Eugene Dumitrescu (UNC): Thin film dynamics of liquid transport in gas-liquid core annular flow
- 11:30 Rachel Levy (Harvery Mudd) & Michael Shearer (NCSU): Thin films/surfactant modelling: future directions
12 pm Lunch on Hillsborough St.
Afternoon Session
- 1:30 Jie Zhang (Duke): Marangoni convection in binary mixtures
- 2:00 Thomas Ward (NCSU): Squeezed droplets
- 2:30 Tom Witelski (Duke): Coarsening of drops in dewetting thin film
- 3:00 Karen Daniels: Discussion

Directions

Campus Map
Take I-40 East to Wade Avenue, following signs to stay on Wade Avenue. Soon after you pass the Whole Foods (in the shopping center on the left), turn right at the stoplight at Faircloth St. At the next stoplight, turn left on Hillsborough St. As you approach the NCSU campus, turn right on Dan Allen Dr., go down the hill and turn left on Yarborough Dr. (passing through the open traffic gates). Follow this road through parking lots until it forks, at which point take the left fork and you will arrive at a parking lot at the back of Riddick Lab. Walk to the left (west) of the building so that you can enter from the front side through the big doors on the 3rd floor.

Research Opportunities

Interested undergraduates, graduate students, or prospective postdocs may contact Karen Daniels about research opportunities.

NC State students should consider applying for a Research Award, and/or speak to me in person about other research opportunities during the school year. External undergraduate students are encouraged to apply to the REU program organized by the NC State Physics Department.

Prospective graduate students should visit the Graduate Programs webpage for information about how to apply to the PhD program in the NC State Physics Department.

Undergraduate Research Awards

We would be interested in hosting an undergraduate research student through the UGR awards process. Topics would be drawn from any of the projects listed on our website, in particular: experiments on the dynamics of segregation in granular materials, programming automated image-processing techniques, or experiments on earthquake-like failures in a granular material.

Contact Dr. Karen Daniels, kdaniel {at} ncsu.edu, 258C Riddick

Work-Study Opportunity

LabView programming of camera interface for use in research described on this page. Some programming experience and physics major desired (but not required); learning LabView skills will be part of the job.

Contact Dr. Karen Daniels, kdaniel {at} ncsu.edu, 258C Riddick

Group Members

Karen Daniels

Melissa Fender, undergraduate student
fracture in gels

Kate Foco, undergraduate student
failure in granular materials

Adele Lichtenberger, undergraduate student
thin fluid flows

Carlos Ortiz, graduate student
microfluidic jamming

Eli Owens, graduate student
acoustics in granular materials

James Puckett, graduate student
state variables in dense granular materials

Group Photo: July 2008

Left to right: Karen Daniels, Carlos Ortiz, Philip Boyne, Laura Golick, Frederic Lechenault, Stephanie Couvreur, Dave Fallest, Chris Fox, Eli Owens, Melissa Fender