Clary Rodriguez

Current Research

My current research involves studies of the flow behavior of long slender fibers (high aspect ratio) in suspension. Specifically, it studies the clogging behavior of such fibers through confined geometries and the parameters involved in the probability of clogging a channel. While prior work has examined the clogging problem of spherical and pseudo-spherical objects, there has been limited study examining slender fibers (as opposed to rods, or whiskers). Understanding the fundamentals of the flow and clogging behavior of such fibers is very important since it relates to real-life scenarios, such as hair strands clogging drains and cylindrical channels in general. Currently, my work entails fiber production methods such as those used for wet-spinning, dry-jet wet spinning and in-situ UV polymerization in aims to obtain fibers with diverse properties that can be studied in flow.

Previous Research

Before joining Professor Osuji’s Lab, I participated in research involving ultrasound contrast agents under guidance of Professor Steven Wrenn at the Biological Colloids Laboratory, Drexel University. My work consisted of the development and particle chemistry alteration of liposomal nested particles. Parameters such as phospholipid chemistry and sonication amplitude were varied to determine their effect on particle size.