Prof. Irmgard Bischofberger

Professor Bischofberger is an experimentalist, and her research specialities are fluid dynamics and soft matter physics.

In fluid dynamics, she has focused on two sub-domains. First, she models the dynamic interaction (instabilities) of fluid flows of different viscosities -- think, for example, oil spilled on water. She also studies flows in porous media, like soil. For example, she has investigated the effect of forest fires on soil wettability, and the subsequent impact on fertility. She believes this work is relevant to oil companies, possibly to carbon capture.

In the soft materials domain, Bischofberger studies colloidal gels - yogurt, cosmetics … etc, -- with the aim of determining their (I think bulk) mechanical properties. Her contribution to this field is to look at more complex colloidal suspensions than have been modeled previously, for example including particles with multiple and/or competing degrees of attractiveness. By understanding how these materials work, she intends to develop means to design them in the future. The relevance to industry would be in food, consumer products.