Marino Xanthos Memorial Lecture Series

Fluid Mechanics everywhere: Surprises, Beauty, Bifurcations, and Similarity

Howard A. Stone
Neil A. Omenn '68 University Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 
Princeton University 

Wednesday, October 15, 2025
2:30 PM
Eberhardt Hall Room 112

Abstract

In this talk I will illustrate some of the beauty of fluid mechanics as an intellectual discipline while highlighting the remarkable breadth of applications informed by fluid mechanical principles. I will also sketch recent themes* from my research group, starting with a brief survey of problems, studied with experiments and modeling, where the concept of self-similarity arises, spanning thin films, drop coalescence, and Marangoni motions (flows driven by surface tension gradients). Of course, fluid mechanics is important to applications in biology and medicine. To illustrate the former I will touch on research questions involving biological membranes and biological condensates. Throughout the talk I hope to weave together experiments and physical understanding, and hopefully inspire some new potential fluid mechanical insights/applications from the audience.

*The research described was performed by many people in my research group, as well as some external collaborations. 

Biography

Howard Stone received the B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis in 1982 and the PhD in Chemical Engineering from Caltech in 1988. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge, in 1989 he joined the faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. In July 2009 Howard moved to Princeton University where until 2024 he was the Donald R. Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He is now the Neil A. Omenn ’68 University Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Howard’s research interests are in fluid dynamics, broadly interpreted. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and is past Chair of the Division of Fluid Dynamics. He was the first recipient of the G.K. Batchelor Prize in Fluid Dynamics (2008). He has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (2009), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011), the National Academy of Sciences (2014), the Royal Society (United Kingdom) as a Foreign Member (2022), and the American Philosophical Society (2022). He has won teaching awards at both Harvard and Princeton.

RSVP to Roselyn Manning by Wednesday, October 8, 2025; manning@njit.edu or
973-596-3577.

About Marino Xanthos

Marino Xanthos, Ph.D. was a professor of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering.  Associate Provost for Graduate Studies, and Senior Technical Advisor to the Polymer Processing Institute (PPI) at NJIT until his passing in the summer of 2013.  Dr. Xanthos earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki and master's and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto, where he studied under Professor R.T. Woodhams.  

After receiving his doctorate in 1974, he joined the research division of Martin Marietta Resources International, where he eventually rose to the position of Research, Development, and Technical Services Manager.  From 1980 to 1986 he served as professor and later as director of Stevens Institute of Technology overseas International Programs Office Department of polymer science, engineering and technology, jointly operated with the Algerian Petroleum Institute.  During the period of 1987 to 1995, he was the research director of the PPI and Stevens Research Professor.  He was appointed professor of chemical engineering at NJIT in 1995, where he served until his passing as Director of the Polymer Engineering Center, Director of the Center of Processing of Plastics Packaging, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Materials Research Council, Senior Technical Adviser to the PPI at NJIT, and finally Associate Provost for Graduate Studies.

Dr. Xanthos was internationally recognized for his polymer blends, polymer composites and polymer foams expertise, and his studies on polymer modification through the use of functional particulate additives and reactive extrusion processes, which he also applied to the processing of pharmaceutical oral dosage forms. His research work and publications involved Ph.D. and master's students at NJIT and Stevens.  He was also involved with PPI technical staff and industrial colleagues nationally and internationally in the solution of numerous important industrial problems.

Dr. Xanthos became a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) in 2003 and received the NJIT Board of Overseers Harlin J. Perlis Award that same year in recognition of his exemplary scholarship and outstanding research in the field of polymers.  He served as the U.S. representative to the Board of the Polymer Processing Society since 2005.  In 2010, he received the Heinz List Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in Reactive Processing and Devolatilization.

Dr. Xanthos deeply cared for and was a renowned mentor and advisor to his graduate and undergraduate students.  For many years, he was the advisor and life force of the NJIT student chapter of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).

This lecture series was established by his family, friends and colleagues to memorialize his accomplishments and love of his chosen field.
 

Previous Lectures

2D Carbides and Nitrides (MXenes) are Ready to Roll

Yury Gogotsi
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Drexel University

Frontiers in Supramolecular Design of Materials

Samuel Stupp
Department of Chemistry
Northwestern University

Interfacial Rheology: From Beer Foams to Materials Design

Jan Vermant
Department of Materials
ETH Zürich, Zürich Switzerland 

Plastics
What are they and could we live without them?

Frank S. Bates
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science 
University of Minnesota
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2020

Liquid Crystals - From Simple Self-Assembled Constructs, to Autonomous Materials​

Juan de Pablo Ph.D.
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
University of Chicago
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2019

Functional Polymer Materials Designed for Advanced Applications and Sustainability

Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science & Engineering
Texas A&M University
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2018
  

Engineered Silk Proteins for Regenerative Medicine

David L. Kaplan, Ph.D.
Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering
Professor & Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Distinguished University Professor
Tufts University
Director, NIH P41 Resource Center on Tissue Engineering
Editor-in-Chief, ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2017

Breaking Moore's Law, 

Thomas P. Russell, Ph.D.
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2016

The Unusual Rheology of Concentrated Suspensions

Morton M. Denn, Ph.D.
Benjamin Levich Institute, City College of New York
Xanthos Memorial Lecture Program 2015