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October 6: Matt Rau, George Washington University

  • 4:00 p.m.
  • 190 Goodwin Hall 
  • Host: Olivier Coutier-Delgosha

Abstract: Much of the particulate matter in natural bodies of water is biological in origin. This is particularly true in the ocean, where suspended particles are often made up of everything from bacteria and algae to fecal pellets and other detritus from organisms. These biological particles are hugely important to the ocean carbon cycle and food web and their sedimentation is also one of the primary pathways for atmospheric carbon to be sequestered in the ocean. This talk focuses on two major research thrusts related to understanding and leveraging the properties of these marine particles. Firstly, our understanding of marine particle transport has been limited by our lack of knowledge of microscale biophysical interactions. Here, I will present an overview of recent and ongoing efforts to clarify how these particles respond to their microscale ocean environment. Secondly, ocean ecosystems are already quite adept at processing large amounts of suspended particulate matter. We are actively developing new technologies, inspired by marine ecosystems, to provide extremely efficient particle filtration. I will describe these ongoing efforts, including the development of a passive particle collector inspired by filter-feeding fish.

Bio: Dr. Matthew Rau is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the George Washington University. He received his PhD from Purdue University in 2016 and was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow with the Naval Research Laboratory from 2016-2017. Dr. Rau’s research interests primarily consider transport in multiphase flows, ranging from engineered systems to the environment. His group performs a variety of experimental techniques in the laboratory and develops and deploys novel measurement techniques in the field to study natural oceanic particulate matter. He was awarded a National Science CAREER award in 2022 for his research on biological aggregates.