Research Interests

Professor Jhon's research focuses on the fundamentals in engineering science and their application to the state-of-the-art engineering problems. He is primarily involved with the mathematical modeling of complex engineering systems using finite element, Monte Carlo, and molecular dynamics simulations. In addition, lattice Boltzmann method is currently being implemented via parallel computing schemes to examine multi-scale and multi-phenomena complex engineering systems.

He has also synthesized and characterized many different polymeric systems including polyaniline to make electrorheological (ER) fluids, consisting of a suspension of micron-sized particles in a non-conducting fluid, which plays an important role in electro-mechanical control devices. He constructed a universal scaling function for the ER yield stress, over a broad range of electrical field strengths, by hybridizing both the polarization and conductivity models. He also examined rheological properties of complex fluid systems including perfluoropolyethers, polymer/clay nanocomposites, and polymer/carbon nanotube composites.

Professor Jhon is investigating mechanical and reliability issues in information storage devices at the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC). Mathematical software suitable for designing next-generation drives, including heat assisted magnetic recording, is being developed in collaboration with industrial partners at the DSSC. Transport processes of lubricant film in nanoscale confined geometries are being examined. Experimental and theoretical investigations in nanotribology, nanorheology, and microstructural analysis are also under way. In conjunction with the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems (ICES), he is pioneering the modeling of nanoscale devices which is extremely important in electronics packaging area and next generation silicon-on-insulator transistors as well as the design of the direct methanol and hydrogen fuel cells. He is also exploring the manufacturing and development of deposition equipment for organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), which is one of the rapidly growing display technologies as well as chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) equipment, which is extensively used in semiconductor devices manufacturing industry. He has been hybridizing these technologies via virtues of nanotechnology, which will have a great impact in nanomanufacturing area.

Representative Publications

Y. Zhou, R. Zhang, I. Staroselsky, H. Chen, W. T. Kim, and M.S. Jhon, "Simulation of Micro- and Nano-scale Flows via the Lattice Boltzmann Method," Physica A-Statistical Mechanics And Its Applications 362 (1), 68-77 (2006).

R. A. Escobar, S. S. Ghai, M. S. Jhon, and C. H. Amon, "Multi- Length and Time Scale Thermal Transport Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method with Application to Electronics Cooling," International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 49 (1-2), 97-107 (2006).

S. Izumisawa and M. S. Jhon, "Calculation of Disjoining Pressure for Lubricant Films via Molecular Simulation," IEEE Trans. Magn. 42 (10), 2543-2545 (2006).

H.G. Chen, Q. Guo, and M.S. Jhon, "Effects of Molecular Structure on the Conformation and Dynamics of Perfluoropolyether Nanofilms," IEEE Trans. Magn. 43(6), 2247-9 (2007).

Related Links

Colloids, Polymers, and Surfaces Program

Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC)

Institute of Complex Engineering Systems (ICES)

National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/org/nanotechnology-forum/