Dr. Daniel Attinger

Daniel Attinger’s numerical and experimental research is focused on multiphase microfluidics, the dynamical behavior of several fluids or phases constrained by a micro-geometry. A coffee drop evaporating on a sheet of paper is a multiphase microfluidics system, as is the explosive vapor bubble that ejects ink out of an inkjet printer. Multiphase microfluidic systems typically exhibit multiscale heat and mass transport with transient fluid dynamics, in the presence of multiple deforming interfaces. Current micro and nanomanufacturing techniques provide novel tools to engineer multiphase microfluidic systems, with applications in manufacturing, single cell biology, bloodstain pattern analysis, energy transport and the environment.

Attinger’s laboratory  tries to understand, control and enhance these multiphase microfluidic transport phenomena. Typical problems in which we have built expertise are multiphase flow in microgeometries, or the impact with phase change of a single droplet on a solid wall.  In 2010, we have demonstrated how micro-functionalized interfaces can enhance pool boiling heat transfer, or guide the self-assembly of nanoparticles.

Daniel Attinger is the recipient of the ETH Zurich medal for outstanding Sc.D. thesis (2001). He has produced 27 journal articles, 40 conference papers, two book chapters, two edited books. He has given five keynote lectures at international heat transfer and microfluidic conferences, and about 30 invited talks in Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, RPI, IIT Chennai, ETH Zurich and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Since 2004, the US National Science Foundation, has awarded him five grants as a PI, including the NSF CAREER award for young investigators. Attinger is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Physical Society. [full resume]

List of representative publications

Betz, A., J. Xu, H. Qiu, and D. Attinger (accepted August 2010) Do surfaces with mixed hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas enhance pool boiling? Applied Physics Letters (also http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.2208 )

R. Bhardwaj, X. Fang, P. Somasundaran, and D. Attinger (2010) Self-assembly of particles from evaporating colloidal droplets: role of the pH and proposition of a phase diagram, Langmuir, vol. 26 (11), pp. 7833-7842 

Betz, A. and D. Attinger(2010) Can Segmented Flow Enhance Heat Transfer in Microchannel Heat Sinks?", International  Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 53, pp. 3683-3691

R. Bhardwaj, J. P. Longtin, and D. Attinger (2010) "Interfacial temperature measurements, high-speed visualization and finite-element simulations of droplet impact and evaporation on a solid surface," International Journal Heat Mass transfer, 53, pp. 3733-3744 

J. Xu and D. Attinger (2008)Drop on demand in a microfluidic chip, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Vol 18, pp 065020 

J. Xu and D. Attinger (2007) Acoustic excitation of superharmonic capillary waves on a meniscus in a planar microgeometry, Physics of Fluids, 19: p. 108107 

D. Attinger, Z. Zhao, and D. Poulikakos (2000) An Experimental Study of Molten Microdroplet Surface Deposition and Solidification: Transient Behavior and Wetting Angle Dynamics, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer Vol. 122 (3), pp. 544-556

D. Attinger, S. Haferl, Z. Zhao, and D. Poulikakos (2000), "Transport Phenomena in the Impact of a Molten Droplet on a Surface: Macroscopic Phenomenology and Microscopic Considerations. Part II Heat Transfer and Solidification," Annual Review of Heat Transfer, Vol. XI, pp. 145-205, Begell House, NY 

S. Haferl, Z. Zhao, J. Giannakouros, D. Attinger, and D. Poulikakos (2000) "Transport Phenomena in the Impact of a Molten Droplet on a Surface: Macroscopic Phenomenology and Microscopic Considerations. Part I Fluid Dynamics", Annual Review of Heat Transfer, Vol. XI, pp. 65-143, Begell House, NY

Listen to Dr. Daniel Attinger presenting his views on research (March 2009) "(click on his name left from the movie panel)"

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