Link of the Moment: Beer Review

A few years ago, I found a San Diego-based microbrew called Old Viscosity Ale.  Inspired by the post, fellow blogger John Spevacek tracked down some of the product and rigorously tested its tagline "Not your dad's 30 weight."  He published the results in the most recent Rheology Bulletin on page 7.  [Disclosure: I'm acknowledged in the paper.]  Congratulations to John on his humorous work, and thanks to Editor Faith Morrison for including the work in the Bulletin.
One side benefit of John's sampling work is that he supplied a bottle for my own consumption.  I am no longer an unpaid blogger.  I have been compensated in beer.

Video of the Moment: Big Oobleck Experiment

The boys from The Big Bang Theory play with a non-Newtonian fluid and a bass speaker.

Audio of the Moment: A New Pitch

Many people, including John, have reported that the Australian pitch experiment is about to drip for the 9th time.  I enjoyed this presentation from Radiolab.  It will take 9 minutes of your time.

New Material Coming Soon

I've found a few things worth posting, so look for more stuff coming in the next few days.

Quotation of the Moment: Pi Day (#2)

"Frustra laborant quotquot se calculationibus futigant pro inventione quadraturae circuli."

"Futile is the labor of those who fatigue themselves with calculations to square the circle."

--Michael Stifel (1544)

People who attempt to "square the circle" are trying to prove that the perimeter of a square is equivalent to the circumference of a circle.  Their proofs usually generate rational values of pi.
Hat tip: History of Pi by Petr Beckmann 

 

 

 

Jobs Report (Mar 2012)

Using the keyword "rheolog*", I found 36 positions listed on Monster.com and 22 jobs on Careerbuilder.  The search was conducted on March 1st.

Link of the Moment: Tattoo Emporium

If you've got some spare time, head on over to the Tattoo Emporium at Discover magazine's Loom Blog and examine some of the creative ways that scientists and engineers decorate their bodies.

Link of the Moment: Silly Putty Info

If you want to know more about Silly Putty, head on over to HowStuffWorks.com to read their article on the history and properties of the "solid liquid™."

Doc Rheo F/U: Degrees of Food Rheology

I recently had a chance to discuss this letter with a food science professor.  (This professor is familiar with rheology, but it's not his main area of research.)  The professor told me that graduate food rheology projects might be difficult for one important reason: there is no such thing as a model food system.  There are model polymer systems that are used in chemistry and physics studies, but a degree focused only on food rheology might be more difficult than other fields.

The Matter of Your Degree

A recent discussion on SOR group at LinkedIn is an interesting follow up to some of the posts [1,2] I've put up on rheological backgrounds.  Randy Byrne of Malvern Instruments asked which background was best for understanding rheological properties of all materials.  My background in polymer physics has served me well in jobs in materials science, instrument sales, and the food industry. 
Also, in this case, it is worthwhile to see what hiring managers want for rheological jobs [2].  The top choices are Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Polymer Science/Engineering.

[1]     Doc Rheo letter on studying food rheology
[2]     Jobs Report review on degree backgrounds