Title: Assistant Professor of Polymer Engineering and Chemical, Biomolecular & Corrosion Engineering
Dept/Program: School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
Office: PEAC 219
Phone: 330-972-5410
Fax: 330-972-3406
Email: fkhabaz@uakron.edu
Website: https://blogs.uakron.edu/khabaz/
Biography
Dr. Fardin Khabaz joined the Department of Polymer Engineering and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The University of Akron in January 2020. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas Tech University (2016) and has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (2011). Before joining The University of Akron, Dr. Khabaz used particle simulations and finite element methods to understand the rheological and mechanical properties of different materials ranging from dilute to jammed suspensions and solid networks in his postdoctoral appointment at the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, and as a Visiting Scientist at École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles (ESPCI) de la Ville de Paris, he performed experiments to investigate rheology of soft particle glasses. During his Ph.D. studies at Texas Tech University, he employed atomistically-detailed and coarse-grained molecular simulations to model and characterize thermal, structural, and rheological properties of polymeric nanocomposites, gels, and polymer modified bitumen.
Research
Our research group focuses on employing various simulation techniques (from atomistically-detailed simulations to finite element methods) to design predictive tools to design advanced materials with superior mechanical and rheological properties. We are interested in the structure-property relationships in complex fluids, particularly in soft materials that are recyclable and multiphase systems. The emergence of dynamic covalent chemistry has led to the advent of a new class of polymer networks called vitrimers, which are malleable at high temperatures and show network integrity at operating temperatures. These networks, which are composed of exchangeable crosslinks, exhibit topology freezing temperature, which is indicative of the transition from rubbery to viscoelastic liquid behavior, and they have the potential to transform the future of thermoset materials by providing the ability for recycling and self-healing. Our simulation tools can be used to describe the linear and nonlinear rheological properties of these self-healing systems and establish a linkage between the microscopic dynamics of the network on the molecular level and the macroscopic properties. Furthermore, the dynamics of vitrimers in solutions in the presence of the hydrodynamics interactions is of interest.
Current research topics:
(1) Dynamics, rheology, and mechanics of vitrimers
(2) Rheology and micro-dynamics of yield stress fluids
(3) Dynamics heterogeneities in nanocomposites
Publications
Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Ohio Innovation Exchange
- Perego, A. and Khabaz, F. “Volumetric and Rheological Properties of Vitrimers: A Hybrid Molecular Dynamics and Monte-Carlo Simulation Study”, Macromolecules, 53, 19, 8406–8416, 2020.
- Perego, A. and Khabaz, F. “Thermodynamics, Dynamics, and Rheology of Fuel Surrogates: Application of Time-Temperature Superposition Principle in Molecular Dynamics Simulations”, Energy & Fuels, 34, 9, 1061-10641, 2020.
- Das, S.; Khabaz, F.; N.; Nguyen, Q. and Bonnecaze, R. T. “Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Aqueous Nonionic Surfactants on a Carbonate Surface”, J. Phys. Chem. B, 124, 37, 8158–8166, 2020.
- Bonnecaze, R. T.; Khabaz, F.; Mohan, L.; Cloitre, M. “Excess Entropy Scaling for Soft Particle Glasses”, Special issue of J. Rheol., 64, 423, 2020.
- Khabaz, F.; Cloitre, M. and Bonnecaze, R. T. “Particle Dynamics Predicts Shear Rheology of Soft Particle Glasses”, Special issue of J. Rheol., 64, 459, 2020.
- Howard M. P.; Jadrich R. B.; Lindquist, B. A.; Khabaz, F., Bonnecaze, R. T.; Milliron, D. J. and Truskett, M. “Structure and Phase Behavior of Polymer-Linked Colloidal Gels”, J. Chem. Phys. 151 (12), 124901, 2019.
Education
- The University of Texas at Austin (Postdoctoral Fellow 2016-2019)
- Texas Tech University (Ph. D. 2012-2016)
- Sharif University of Technology (BSc. 2011)