In case of rapture, I will still post to this blog

If you type "[favorite blog name].blogpsot.com" into a browser window, you're not taken your favorite blog, but azt.com, which is a Bible study website.

Conference Announcement: Dynamics of Complex Fluids

First Circular & Call for Papers: Dynamics of Complex Fluids Conference – May 5-7, 2011 – Iasi, Romania http://reologie.ro/2011/01/18/first-circular-call-for-papers-dynamics-of-complex-fluids-conference-may-5-7-2011-iasi-romania/ All interested people are invited to present and to discuss current results in the field of complex fluids (design and flow properties). Please submit your paper (title, authors, affiliation, a short abstract of maximum 400 words, with the specification of type of presentation) until February 28, 2011, to the conference office.


(Conference announcements can be sent to rheolworldblog -at- gmail.com.  Please include a valid email address)

Update 2/10/2011: You're welcome, Monica

A New Logo

I've changed the logo.  The joke is explained here.  The original post where this cartoon appeared is here. 

Ask Doc Rheo: Industries for Rheologists

Dear Doc Rheo:
 I would like to know more about rheology jobs in other areas besides polymers.
--A Student

Dear Student:
When I worked in sales and applications for a rheometer company, I looked at samples from adhesive, asphalt, building materials, cosmetics, food, ink, paint, pharmaceutical, polymer, and paper coatings industries.  This is by no means an exhaustive list; as materials and supplies have gotten more complicated and expensive, companies want precise methods of characterization.  If you would like to find out more industries that employ rheologists, do the following...

1. Take a look at job web sites like Monster or Careerbuilder.  My monthly job search shows results from all sorts of companies.  (Besides, it's never too early to start thinking about your job hunt.)
2. Take a look around your lab and note the instruments that are there.  Go to the instrument company web site and find the list of shows the company attends.  You will identify where the instrument companies have customers and prospects.

The good news about jobs in these other industries is that the top majors for rheologists are Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Polymer Science.


Respectively submitted,
Doc Rheo

Video of the Moment: "Bad Project"

Because we have bad projects after grad school, too.



Hat tip: Carbon-Based Curiosities

News from the Rheology Bulletin

Three bullet items from the Rheology Bulletin

• The official SOR report from Santa Fe is on page 4 of the Bulletin.
• The next SOR meeting will be in Cleveland.  As of this posting, the meeting page has not been updated.
• The short course at this fall's meeting will be on the rheology of high-interface systems.  The course will be added to the list once I have an appropriate link.

'Prime Time'

Is it fine
If I pine
For the time
Of the prime?
'Twas sublime


Written to celebrate the period where the ages of everyone in my immediate family was represented by a prime number.

A Rheological Misconception

Rheological item related to Wikipedia's list of common misconceptions

• Glass is not a high-viscosity liquid at room temperature: it is an amorphous solid, although it does have some chemical properties normally associated with liquids. Panes of stained glass windows often have thicker glass at the bottom than at the top, and this has been cited as an example of the slow flow of glass over centuries. However, this unevenness is due to the window manufacturing processes used in earlier eras, which produced glass panes that were unevenly thick at the time of their installation. Normally the thick end of glass would be installed at the bottom of the frame, but it is also common to find old windows where the thicker end has been installed to the sides or the top. In fact, the lead frames of the windows are less viscous than the panes, and if glass was indeed a slow moving liquid, the panes would warp at a higher degree.

Hat tip: xkcd

Rheology Courses for 2011

• The Hyden practical rheology course will be held in June.  Information available here.
• The Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium will host the 13th European School of Rheology in September.  Information available here.
• Professor Macosko of the University of Minnesota will not be holding his Rheological Short Course this coming summer.  The course will next be held in 2012. 

This is Serious

#840 at xkcd.

A Point of Clarification

I know that some people find this blog using the search term "eric brown rheology."  I was originally flattered, but I remembered that there is another member of the Society of Rheology with the name Eric Brown.  The other Dr. Brown is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago.  I attended one of his talks at last year's SOR meeting, and he has a promising future.

Jobs Report (January '11)

Using the search term "rheolog*", I found 22 jobs on Monster and 11 jobs on Careerbuilder.  On Monster, the education level of jobs required is as follows...

• 8 require B.S. or higher
• 2 require HS diploma or higher
• 1 requires a MS degree or higher
• 1 requires an Associates degree or higher
• The other jobs do not specify a particular education

On Careerbuilder, the education level is as follows...

• 6 require BS or higher
• 2 require HS or higher
• 2 require PhD
• 1 requires a MS or higher

Fixing the Best Advice

The original post on Best Advice for Graduate Students contained a factual error.  The original post stated theives stole a grad student's computer, when in fact, they stole the computer and the portable hard drive used as a backup.  I apologize for the error.  Thanks to the anonymous contributor at Chemjobber for the tip.