Fred K. Forster
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Summary
For a summary of professional activities refer to the shortened version of my
CURRICULUM VITAE (pdf).
It includes a list of publications linked to viewable files. Below are further details regarding
teaching and research interests.
Teaching
Below are web sites for some of the courses I teach (may require a campus internet address or password):
Research
My research interests are in the applications of engineering mechanics
to medicine and biology, particularly in the area of acoustics and fluid
mechanics. Our most recent research includes micro-fluid mechanics applications in
biochemical sensing. We currently have two DARPA contracts that
fund the development of micropumps and the validation of CAD models of
microfluidic systems and components.
Micropumps
We have developed micropumps that are based on valves that are specially shaped conduits (variations of Tesla valves) that have no moving parts. We refer such pumps as no-moving-parts-valve pumps or NMVP pumps. My students maintain an
INFORMATIVE WEB SITE devoted to this topic.
Viscometers & Diffusiometers
We are investigating other microfluidic applications. We have modeled two-phase flow in rectangular channels and developed methods for measuring viscosity and mass diffusion coefficient that utilize nanoliters of fluid. These results are based on analytic models of hydrodynamics and diffusion in rectangular microchannels. These techniques can be used in-line, i.e. in a continuous flow microfluidic system.
A publication describing the microviscometer is titled AN OPTICAL MICRO-FLUIDIC VISCOMETER
(pdf).
Particle Handling
Our most recent work is related to particle handling in microsystems.
We are currently studying the effectiveness fixed-valve pumps to move relatively
high concentrations of particles up to 20 micron in size. Some of this work will be presented at the ASME Annual Winter meeting (IMECE '99), November 14-19,1999. The paper is titled
Transport of Particle-Laden Fluids through Fixed-Valve Micropumps
(pdf).
.
Ultrasonic Tissue Characterization
Other recent research includes acoustic propagation in biological media, including experimental and numerical studies directed toward a basic understanding of the interaction of acoustical energy with biological tissue, in particular skin and cartilage. These acoustic efforts have included the development of instrumentation for acoustic interrogation techniques at high ultrasonic frequencies. A
proceedings paper related to diffraction correction techniques that are particularly important at high frequencies is
THE EFFECT OF SCATTER STATISTICS ON DIFFRACTION CORRECTIONS
(pdf).
Prior research
I have contributed to research in wave propagation
in the cardiovascular system, ultrasonic Doppler techniques for cardiovascular
fluid dynamics measurements, including turbulence; analysis of cardiac
arrhythmias through spectral analysis, ultrasonic Doppler measurements
in the paper products industry, mathematical modeling of the oscillometric
blood pressure measurement technique, experimental fluid mechanics of flow
separation and vortex shedding in atherosclerotic blood vessels, characterization
of the chemical constituents of gallstones from acoustic attenuation measurements,
and acoustic quantification of the severity of thermal energy.
Fred K. Forster
E-mail: forster@u.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 543-4910
This page last updated on August 7, 2001
And on the weekends...
Fluid |
Dynamics |