Colloids

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Thomas Mason, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA. Mason recounts his childhood in Frederick, MD, and he describes the influence of his father, who was a zoologist. Mason discusses his undergraduate education at the University of Maryland where he pursued a dual degree in physics and electrical engineering, and he describes the opportunity that led to his graduate work at Princeton. He explains his work at Exxon Research and Engineering Lab, where he worked with Dave Weitz, and he describes the growth of soft matter condensed physics. Mason discusses his dissertation in micro-rheology and some of the broader questions in Brownian systems when colloids are micro-dispersed. He describes his postdoctoral work in France with Jerome Bibette, where he focused on the science of emulsification, and he discusses his senior postdoctoral position at Johns Hopkins, where he worked with Scot Kuo who was concentrating on the rheology of concentrated DNA. Mason explains his decision to join Exxon as a principal investigator, where he researched asphaltenes, and he discusses some of the broader advances in soft matter physics fostered at the Exxon lab. He describes his motivations for returning to academia, and in particular his desire to teach, he explains the opportunity leading to his tenure at UCLA, and he describes his contributions to the NanoSystems Institute. Mason discusses his involvement in many of the clinical and therapeutic aspects of soft matter physics, and at the end of the interview, he offers insight on where his broad interests in platform technologies might be relevant as his field continues to grow.

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Norman Wagner, Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware. Wagner recounts his childhood in Pennsylvania and his undergraduate experience at Carnegie Mellon and his decision to study chemical engineering at Princeton. He discusses his graduate research at Los Alamos and Sandia and his postdoctoral research in Germany.  The bulk of the interview covers Wagner’s wide-ranging research agenda at the University of Delaware.  He discusses his strategic partnership with the NIST Center for Neutron Research, and the range of commercial endeavors that he has been involved in as a result of his research in soft matter physics. Wagner explains his work in biomedical engineering, and his collaboration with NASA on Mars-related research.  At the end of the interview, Wagner provides a broad-based explanation of rheology and its development as a distinct scientific field.

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews David J. Pine, Silver Professor, professor of physics, and Chair of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Pine explains the background of NYU’s takeover of Brooklyn Poly and where these changes fit within the overall expansion of soft matter physics in the U.S. He recounts his childhood as the son of a pastor and moving many times as his father preached for different congregations. He discusses his interests and talents in the sciences during high school, and he explains his decision to attend Wheaton College. Pine describes how he developed his interest in physics in college and he describes his research at Argonne. He discusses his decision to go to Cornell for his graduate work, where he studied under Bob Cotts and did research on hydrogen diffusion in metals. Pine recounts his postdoctoral research at Pitt, where he worked with Walter Goldberg on spinodal decomposition, and he describes his first faculty position at Haverford, where he built a lab from scratch focusing on the diffusive dynamics of shear fluids. He explains his decision to accept a position with Exxon Labs, which he describes as an excellent place for basic science, and he describes the factors leading to his appointment on the chemical engineering faculty at UCSB, where he focused his research on polymer solutions and colloidal suspension. Pine describes some of the exciting advances in physics that were happening at the Kavli Institute. He describes his collaborations with Paul Chaikin and the prospect of joining the faculty at NYU, where he has continued his research. At the end of the interview, Pine reflects on how he has tried to maximize the benefits of working at the nexus of several disciplines, and he explains why entropy has been a concept of central importance to all of his research.