Faculty Directory
Paul Umbanhowar

Research Professor

Contact

2145 Sheridan Road
Tech B227
Evanston, IL 60208-3109

Email Paul Umbanhowar

Departments

Mechanical Engineering

Affiliations

Master of Science in Robotics Program

Education

PhD, The University of Texas at Austin (1996)

MS, Boston University (1991)

BA, Carleton College (1987)


Research Interests

Professor Umbanhowar's research in granular materials examines the interaction of legged devices and animals with unconsolidated substrates; the dependence of drag force and penetration resistance on granular material state and intruder geometry and kinematics; segregation, mixing, and flow in shaken, tumbled, fluidized, and stirred granular ensembles; and pattern formation and its connection to continuum theories of discrete particulate systems. Another related area of interest is motion control and self assembly/organization through vibrational manipulation of contact interactions mediated by friction and impact.



Selected Publications

  • Gao, Song; Ottino, Julio M.; Lueptow, Richard M.; Umbanhowar, Paul B., Vertical velocity of a small sphere in a sheared granular bed, Physical Review Research (2024).
  • Xiao, Hongyi; Deng, Zhekai; Ottino, Julio M.; Umbanhowar, Paul B.; Lueptow, Richard M., Modeling stratified segregation in periodically driven granular heap flow, Chemical Engineering Science (2023).
  • Duan, Yifei; Peckham, Jack; Umbanhowar, Paul B.; Ottino, Julio M.; Lueptow, Richard M., Designing minimally segregating granular mixtures for gravity-driven surface flows, AIChE Journal (2023).
  • Gao, Song; Ottino, Julio M.; Umbanhowar, Paul B.; Lueptow, Richard M., Percolation of a fine particle in static granular beds, Physical Review E (2023).
  • Jing, Lu; Ottino, Julio M.; Umbanhowar, Paul B.; Lueptow, Richard M., Drag force in granular shear flows, Journal of fluid Mechanics (2022).
  • Lynn, Thomas F.; Ottino, Julio M.; Lueptow, Richard M.; Umbanhowar, Paul B., Potentialities and limitations of machine learning to solve cut-and-shuffle mixing problems, Chemical Engineering Science (2022).
  • Yu, Mengqi; Ottino, Julio M.; Lueptow, Richard M.; Umbanhowar, Paul B., Segregation patterns in three-dimensional granular flows, Physical Review E (2022).
  • Duan, Yifei; Jing, Lu; Umbanhowar, Paul B.; Ottino, Julio M.; Lueptow, Richard M., Segregation forces in dense granular flows, Journal of fluid Mechanics (2022).

In the Classroom

Professor Umbanhowar has taught courses on classical, quantum, and statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics, and mechanical vibrations. His teaching emphasizes the development of physical intuition and the underlying interrelation of methodologies.