Joseph Paulsen, assistant professor of physics, has recently been awarded a two-year, $110,000, grant to study soft matter physics.

The award, presented by the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, will help to support his lab and research efforts throughout his current project titled, “Hyperuniform Dispersal of Non-Brownian Particles in Viscous Liquids”.

The study will look at how small granular particles, such as grains of sand, might react under various forces while ensconced in a gooey liquid, such as honey. And while that might not sound like a great spread for your morning toast, Paulsen says that the work could help scientist uncover new, general methods for controlling these so-called viscous suspensions in industrial settings. Such materials are notoriously difficult to handle, and understanding how the suspended particles rearrange and organize could help ease processing demands. 

Paulsen recently joined the Syracuse physics department in 2015 after spending two years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a postdoctoral research associate. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago, and is a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society.

Watch the video below to learn more about Joseph Paulsen’s research at Syracuse University.