Quotation of the Moment: Dr. Jones Lectures

"Quicksand is a mixture of sand, mud, and water, and depending on the viscosity, it's not as dangerous as people sometimes think."
--Dr. Henry Jones Jr., in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

(Video can be seen here, in a Slate presentation on quicksand.)

Ask Doc Rheo: Tissue Fiber Rheology

Dear Doc Rheo:
Do you have, or know anyone who has experience in tissue rheology, specifically on fibers?  I am interested in developing a database on rheological characteristics of the various tissues in the body, ie breast tissue, abdominal adipose tissue, scar tissue, etc.
Josh

Dear Josh:
This is far outside my area.  Any readers who would be willing to talk to Josh send me an email at rheolworldblog -at- gmail.com.
Thanks,
Doc Rheo

June in Montreal

The Canadian Society of Rheology is presenting two short courses on rheology in June.

• Current Topics and Trends in Rheology (June 6-7, 2011)
• Rheology and Processing of Polymers (June 2-3, 2011)

The second item does not have a link on the CSR web site.  I will post information when it becomes available.

SOR Award Winners

• Eric Shaqfeh will receive the 2011 Bingham Medal.
• Richard Graham will receive the 2011 Metzner Award.

Congratulations to both gentlemen.

Links of the Moment: What I Did This Semester

My employer, ConAgra Foods, and Michigan State University set up a 400 level course to introduce undergrads to industrial research.  I am referenced obliquely in some of the stories--

• Press release from MSU.
• Detroit Free Press Article
• WXYZ Channel 7
• Detroit News, which was interested in identifying corporate corruption of academia

Quotation of the Moment: Flowing Like a River

And so, like water, we flow. Or, let's try to imagine ourselves flowing. We may not realize it when we're in the flow, but take a look at these pictures from St. Petersburg. Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko sees city crowds as a stream of hands, heads and coats rushing along stairs and streets, in and out of buildings...rushing like water...
--Robert Krulwich, reflecting on the photographs of Titarenko

I have to admit, when I saw the pictures, I thought of the smoke monster from Lost.

Jobs Report (April '11)

A search using the keyword "rheolog*" on April 1st found

• 39 jobs on Monster
• 21 jobs on Careerbuilder

2011 SOR Short Course

The 2011 Society of Rheology Short Course will be held October 8-9, 2011 preceding this year's SOR Meeting.  Gerry Fuller, Jan Vermant, and Andy Kraynik will talk about the Rheology of High-Interface Systems.

Short Course on Polymer Rheology & Extrusion

John Vlachopoulos will present his 66th International Intensive Short Course on Polymer Rheology and Extrusion, April 14-15, 2011, in Brussels, Belgium.  More information can be found here.

Hat tip: SOR member email

Video of the Moment: Liquid Body Armor

The folks from the Discovery Channel TV Show Time Warp use a mixture of water and cornstarch as a test of the concept of a dilatant fluid-based liquid body armor.



I like this because it's a little different than the videos of people running across pools.