| Dec 1, 2025 |  Our paper “Stochastic elastohydrodynamics of contact and coarsening during membrane adhesion “(pdf) is now avaliable in Journal of Fluid Mechanics!  In this paper we proposed a mathematical model based on the stochastic thin film equation to describe the dynamics of the adhesion of two elastic sheets under the influence of thermal fluctuations. We first looked at the initiation of the adhesion, where two sheets must be brought closer to each other by thermal fluctuations and predicted its average waiting time. We then investigated the coarsening of adhesion patches numerically and interestingly, despite the strong similarity between the stochastic thin film equation and the Cahn–Hilliard equation, we find that the coarsening follows a different power law from that expected under classical Ostwald ripening. A simple scaling argument was provided to explain these observations; however, a more thorough investigation, possibly starting from first principles, is needed to explain the findings rigorously. |
| Oct 30, 2024 | Our open access paper “Mean first passage times and Eyring–Kramers formula for fluctuating hydrodynamics “(pdf) is now avaliable in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment! In this paper we formally derived the new Eyring–Kramers law for gradient flow with conserved quantities which was used in the previous papaer to explain the rare rupture of nano thin films. We also showed in details how to numerically evaluate the newly predicted mean first passage time with a few examples. We hope this work will make it easier to apply the Eyring–Kramers law in other fields of science, where randomness at small scales can have a significant impact at larger scales. |
| Jun 13, 2024 | My PhD thesis “Fluctuating Hydrodynamics of Nanoscale Thin Films” has been awarded the 2024 Faculty (of Science, Engineering and Medicine) Thesis Prize  |
| Dec 1, 2023 | I have just started a new roll as a postdoc at the Department of Mathematics, University of Oslo, within the group of Prof. Andreas Carlson!  |
| Sep 11, 2023 | Our open access letter “Rogue Nanowaves: A Route to Film Rupture” is now avaliable in Physical Review Fluids! In this letter we used the rare event theory to explain why linearly stable thin liquid films would rupture at nanoscale. The theoretical prediction of the average rupture time agrees very well with numerical simulations (both solving fluctuating hydrodynamics numerically and molecular dynamics simulations) results. This theoretical framework shows great potential that can be adapted to other problems as well. |
| Sep 7, 2023 | I have passed my PhD viva with minor corrections  Thank you Prof. Alejandro Garcia and Prof. Tom Montenegro-Johnson for the great questions which sparked great discussions! Thank you Dr Ed Brambley for valuable inputs and safe guarding the viva! And many thanks go to my supervisors Prof. James Sprittles and Prof. Duncan Lockerby: this PhD would be impossible without your guidence! |
| Jan 23, 2023 | Our open access paper “Thermal capillary waves on bounded nanoscale thin films” is now avaliable in Physical Review E! In this paper we investigated the effects of solid walls on the fluctuation amplitudes of the free surface of nanoscale thin liquid films. Analytical expression were derived for both 2D and 3D films, and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to validate the theory. |
| Feb 25, 2022 | Our paper “Fluctuation-driven dynamics in nanoscale thin-film flows: Physical insights from numerical investigations” is now avaliable in Physical Review Fluids! In this paper we employed an adaptive grid finite difference scheme to solve the stochastic lubrication equations. We then looked into (i) droplet spreading, (ii) droplet coalescence, and (iii) thin-film rupture, where we are able to probe the final stage of rupture with reasonable computational cost thanks to the adaptive scheme. |