Welcome to my webpage! My name is Arnaldo Rodriguez-Gonzalez, and I’m currently a Ph.D. student in Theoretical & Applied Mechanics at Cornell. Here you’ll find a comprehensive listing of my works, scientific or otherwise, along with other assorted miscellanea. Enjoy!
Research Interests
I am by-and-large a theoretician and computational scientist, interested in developing mathematical frameworks to understand “exotic” physical phenomena and then applying these models to solve high-impact problems in engineering. Most of the time, this involves highly complicated systems for which a simplified model of the dominant physics can be determined. Some of the fields I’ve worked on include:
Microhydrodynamics & Complex Matter
The nonlinear nature of inertia in fluid dynamics, combined with non-trivial interaction dynamics between particles suspended in a fluid and microfluidic device architectures, leads to phenomenally complex suspension dynamics not predicted by the traditional models of low-Reynolds number hydrodynamics. These dynamics can be fruitfully exploited by engineers to create chemical and bio-analytical microdevices for suspensions with key engineering value (cell colonies, atmospheric particulate samples, etc), or to engineer materials at the nanoscale with highly exotic and useful properties.
Stochastic Biomolecular Processes
The staggeringly complex nature of the cell and its internal mechanisms are characterized by a network of highly stochastic processes, each describing some essential function of the cell (metabolism, etc). This complexity often generates stochastic biomolecular dynamics that fail to be captured by averaged-out models, requiring subtle mathematical analysis to describe such phenomena outside of “dynamic biomolecular equilibrium” which can be of relevance in biomedical and genetic engineering. These models are also frequently independent of many system parameters, pointing to the development of reductionist models that capture the essential physics of these processes.
Scientific Publications
Paper 1, submitted (stay tuned!)
Talks/Presentations
- Invariance as Information: Exploiting Symmetries in Mathematical Models, SiGMA Seminar, November 2018.
- Manipulating Colloidal Particle Dynamics in Microfluidic Channels with Particle-Obstacle Interactions, Cornell Fluids Seminar, February 2018.
- Open Problems in Theoretical Mechanics: A Bird’s Eye View, SiGMA Seminar, October 2017.
- Microscale Fluid Mechanics: Concepts and Innovations, Summer STEM Colloquium, August 2017.
Conferences Attended
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IUTAM Symposium on Stochastic Approaches to Fluid Flow Transitions, 2018.
Honors and Awards
- 2016, Cornell Sloan Fellowship
- 2015, UPR-Mayagüez Honor Roll (top 5% of class)
- 2010, Rafael Carrión Jr. Academic Excellence Award
Education
B.S. (2015) University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, mechanical engineering (magna cum laude), minor in applied mathematics.
Ph.D. (Current) Cornell University, theoretical & applied mechanics.
