The goal of this course is for students to become acquainted with complex fluids--their behavior, the underlying physical and chemical principles that produce their behavior, and the methods that can be used to study them. Typical fluids of interest in this course include polymer solutions, melts and solids, and colloidal and particulate suspensions.

The course will consist of one lecture per week and a term project. There will be no exams or homework in the course. Students will be graded on their effort on their project and on a final report. Students will either work on independent projects or with a small group on related projects. These projects will be selected from a variety of computational and experimental topics.

In addition to the one lecture per week, students are expected to commit approximately 3-4 hours per week per credit hour. For example, in order to earn 3 hours of credit, approximately 12-16 hours per week outside of the lecture must be devoted to the project. Time committed to the project includes time spent in the lab, on the computer, in the library, or during relevant discussions.

Students will required to obtain the consent of the instructor to enroll in this course. Projects or project areas should be arranged with the instructor before the first day of class.

1-3 credit hours, 12:05 Tuesdays