TITLE		Associate Professor
AREAS		Microfluidics, complex fluid dynamics, and interfacial fluid dynamics.
DEGREES		B.S. 1995, Carnegie Mellon University; M.S. 1996, Harvard University; Ph.D. 2000, Harvard University.
WEBPAGE		UPDATED!! Anna Laboratory Website UPDATED!!
PHONE		412-268-6492
FAX		412-268-3348
EMAIL		sanna@andrew.cmu.edu
ADDRESS   ASSISTANT		Carnegie Mellon University Department of Mechanical Engineering Scaife Hall 325 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Dolores Smiller ds0s@andrew.cmu.edu 412-268-2492

Associate Professor Shelley Anna holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and a Courtesy appointment in the Department of Physics.  The objective of her research is to develop novel methods to precisely synthesize soft materials and to characterize physical mechanisms governing their dynamics. To achieve this goal, her research group uses experimental fluid dynamics tools combined with physical modeling and analysis.

Soft materials are critical to the function of numerous engineering technologies that impact our lives, from consumer products and pharmaceuticals to optical devices and energy solutions. Common to all soft materials is the presence of an underlying structure, whether droplets, defects, or macromolecules. Microfluidics has revolutionized our approach to synthesis and characterization of soft materials by enabling precise fabrication and control of flows at length scales that interact with the microstructure. The research objective in the Anna Laboratory is to use these advantages to develop new fabrication and measurement methods that will enable us to build a comprehensive body of knowledge of the dynamics of complex fluids.

Current projects emphasize three research areas, which are collectively funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance, the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, and the Berkman Faculty Development Fund.

Droplet Generation and Manipulation in Microfluidics
We develop microfluidic methods to generate monodisperse emulsion droplets micrometers to nanometers in size. We have developed a technology for producing submicron droplets using a fluid mechanical phenomenon called tipstreaming. In collaboration with Prof. L. Walker, we are using tipstreaming to create nanoscale droplet reactors to synthesize transition metal nanoparticles. Such nanoparticles can be used, among other things, for accurate cancer detection and targeted therapies. Other ongoing projects include investigations of coalescence of droplets on surfaces for spray cooling, inkjet printing, and fuel cell applications; and developing microscale methods for characterizing sorption kinetics at fluid interfaces.

Fluid Dynamics of Liquid Crystal Defects 
Microscopic defects play a leading role in the flow behavior of liquid crystals and concentrated surfactant solutions. The presence of defects therefore impacts numerous industrial applications including the development of optoelectronic devices and displays and the processing of coatings, adhesives, and biomaterials to encapsulate drugs. The central problem in optimizing processing conditions for these applications is that neither theory nor experiment are adequately developed to quantitatively describe the fluid dynamics near defects. Our research aims to bridge this gap by using microfluidic devices to generate idealized arrays of microscopic defects, and then to characterize the evolution of the defect microstructure and the fluid stresses when defects are subject to well-defined flows.

Two Phase Flows in Model Porous Media
Fluid invasion into saturated porous media is central to several key technologies for energy and the environment, including carbon sequestration, aquifer remediation, and oil recovery. The fluid mechanics of invasion controls the efficiency and efficacy of a given technology. In collaboration with Prof. M. Ferer (WVU) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) we have developed model microfluidic networks to characterize the pore-level dynamics of invasion to inform and validate pore level simulations.

Research Publications

G.F. Christopher, N.N. Noharuddin, J.A. Taylor and S.L. Anna, “Experimental observations of the squeezing-to-dripping transition in microfluidic T-junctions,” Physical Review E, 78 (2008) 036317. Re-published in Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology, 18 (13) Sep 29, 2008.

G.F. Christopher and S.L. Anna, “Microfluidic methods for generating continuous droplet streams,” Journal of Physics D – Applied Physics, 40 (2007) R319-R336.
S.L. Anna and G.H. McKinley, “Effect of a controlled pre-deformation history on extensional viscosity of dilute polymer solutions,” Rheologica Acta, DOI: 10.1007/s00397-007-0253-0, published online March 7, 2008.

S.L. Anna and H.C. Mayer, “Microscale Tipstreaming in a Microfluidic Flow Focusing Device,” Physics of Fluids, 18 (2006) 121512.

S. Shojaei-Zadeh and S.L. Anna, “Role of Surface Anchoring and Geometric Confinement on Focal Conic Textures in Smectic-A Liquid Crystals,” Langmuir 22 (2006) 9986-93.

D.R. Link, S.L. Anna, H.A. Stone, and D.A. Weitz, “Geometrically-Mediated Breakup of Drops in Microfluidic Devices,” Physical Review Letters, 92 (2004) 054503. Re-published in Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology, 9 (7) Feb. 23, 2004.

S.L. Anna, N. Bontoux, and H.A. Stone, “Formation of dispersions using ‘flow-focusing’ in microchannels,” Applied Physics Letters, 82 (2003) 364-366.

S.L. Anna, G.H. McKinley, “Elasto-Capillary Thinning and Breakup of Model Elastic Liquids,” Journal of Rheology, 45 (2001) 115-138.

S.L. Anna, G.H. McKinley, D.A. Nguyen, T. Sridhar, S.J. Muller, J. Huang, and D.F. James,  “An Inter-laboratory Comparison of Measurements from Filament-Stretching Rheometers Using Common Test Fluids,” Journal of Rheology, 45 (2001) 83-114.

S.L. Anna, C. Rogers, and G.H. McKinley, “On Controlling the Kinematics of a Filament Stretching Rheometer Using a Real-Time Active Control Mechanism,” Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, 87 (1999) 307-335.

J.R. Mackey, K.K. Das, S.L. Anna, and G.H. McKinley, “A Compact Dual-Crystal Modulated Birefringence Measurement System for Microgravity Applications,” Measurement Science and Technology, 10 (1999) 946-955.

Awards

George Tallman Ladd Research Award, Carnegie Mellon University 2006

National Science Foundation CAREER Award 2005 to 2011

Achievement Award, Solutia, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts January 2001

Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship 1995 to 2000