Imaging Science Seminar: Local pore correlations and the anomalous transport of emulsions in porous media
Imaging Science Seminar
Local pore correlations and the anomalous transport of emulsions in porous media
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Dr. Shima Parsa
Assistant Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy
Rochester Institute of Technology
Abstract:
The transport of emulsions is ubiquitous in both industrial and environmental settings, such as material encapsulation and subsurface flow. In our experiments, we simultaneously quantify the microscale dynamics and macroscale transport properties of emulsions in porous media. Natural porous media, with their inherent structural complexity and dense packing, tend to promote stable and predictable emulsion transport, reducing the occurrence of high-velocity, ballistic motion. In contrast, artificial porous media—engineered with varying porosity and structure—enable a wider range of transport regimes, including enhanced ballistic transport. Ultimately, the physical characteristics of the porous matrix and the packing of droplets govern the behavior of soft, deformable, and large droplets, offering design principles for pharmaceutical filters that handle emulsions.
Bio:
Shima Parsa is an assistant professor of physics at RIT and an experimental soft matter physicist. Her research explores the nonlinear dynamics of complex fluids, focusing on multiscale transport in multiphase systems within confined environments. These studies have applications ranging from pharmaceutical processing to marshland remediation. She is the recipient of the 2023 NSF Engineering Research Initiation Award and the 2025 NSF CAREER Award. Shima joined RIT in 2019 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Applied Physics at Harvard, where she investigated multiphase flow in porous media for enhanced oil recovery. She earned her Ph.D. in Physics from Wesleyan University in 2013, where she studied the dynamics of fibers in turbulence.
Intended Audience:
Beginners, undergraduates, graduates. Those with interest in the topic.
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