Sow-Hsin Chen
Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering (Emeritus)
sowhsin@mit.edu
617-253-3810
617-258-8863 (fax)
24-216C
Lab: NW13-205; 617-253-3794
Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering (Emeritus)
sowhsin@mit.edu
617-253-3810
617-258-8863 (fax)
24-216C
Lab: NW13-205; 617-253-3794
B.S., Physics, National Taiwan University, 1956
M.S., Physics, Tsinghua University, Taiwan, 1958
M.S., Nuclear Science, University of Michigan, 1962
Ph.D., Physics, McMaster University, Canada, 1964
2008 Clifford G. Shull Prize from the Neutron Scattering Society of America:
“For seminal contributions to understanding the dynamical properties of supercooled and interfacial water using neutron scattering techniques, and for an exceptional record of training young scientists." Press release
A high-resolution quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) technique is being used to investigate the slow dynamics in supercooled water confined in 1-D and 3-D geometry near hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The main objective is to understand the origin of the so-called Fragile-to-Strong dynamic crossover phenomenon seen in this type of confined water. A similar crossover phenomenon has also been observed in hydration water in many bio-macromolecular assemblies such as hydrated protein, DNA and RNA.
My group also use small angle neutron and x-ray scattering to investigate the structure-phase behavior relationship of microemulsions, copolymer micellar systems, protein solutions, protein surfactant complexes in solution, and counterion distribution around cylindrical polyelectrolytes, including DNA molecules in solution. The neutron scattering work uses facilities located at various national laboratories including NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At MIT, complementary photon correlation spectroscopy equipment has been set up for the structural arrest transition studies of dense copolymer micellar solutions and dense protein solutions. More recently, a high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering is also applied to measure phonon dispersion relations and phonon damping in oriented lipid bilayers, in aligned liquid crystalline DNA films and in proteins. This work is being done at the Advance Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory.
Scattering Methods in Complex Fluids
Summarising recent research on the physics of complex liquids, this in-depth analysis for graduates and researchers examines the topic of complex liquids from a modern perspective. Exploring experimental and theoretical views, this unique text is an invaluable resource for those looking to explore the expanding field of complex fluids. (April 2015)
Note: A full CV and complete listing of publications is available at: http://globalcc.org/shc
Scattering Theory, Thermal Neutron and X-ray Scattering Spectroscopy and Laser Photon Correlation Spectroscopy, Statistical Thermodynamics of Simple and Complex Liquids.