Bavand Keshavarz

Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Bavand Keshavarz Profile Photo

Research Themes

Aerodynamics & Aeroelasticity, Biomechanics & Biomaterials, Soft Matter & Nanoscale Materials

Research Interests

Mechanics of Soft Materials,

Bioinspired Hydrogels,

Metal-Coordination Networks,

Fluid Dynamics of Complex Fluids in Fragmentation and Capillary Phenomena,

Mechanical Spectroscopy of Soft Materials During Gelation,

Linear and Nonlinear Rheology of Supramolecular Networks,

Bio

Research interests of Keshavarz’s group are at the intersection of fluid dynamics and soft matter mechanics. We are particularly interested in dynamics of complex fluids in complex flows. Inspired by the biofabrication process of natural hydrogels, we aim to harness hydrodynamic instabilities to fabricate responsive soft apparatuses that exhibit dynamic functionality over a wide range of deformation timescales. Our approach incorporates a number of interdisciplinary studies on properties of complex fluids with functional biomolecules, capillary phenomena of viscoelastic solutions, gelation of supramolecular networks and mechanical spectroscopy or rheology of gelling systems during linear and nonlinear deformations. These will enable us to both understand and mimic the hierarchical organization of dynamic properties that is often observed in elaborate biological soft structures.

Education

B.S. Sharif University of Technology (Iran), 2008
M.S. University of British Columbia (Canada), 2011
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017

Positions

Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Courses Taught

ME 571: Aerodynamics
ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering

Publications

Poulesquen A, Gomes Rodrigues D, Keshavarz B, Courtois N, Ilavsky J, McKinley GH. Aluminosilicate colloidal gels: from the early age to the precipitation of zeolites. Soft matter. 2024 Jul;20(28):5538–52.
Keshavarz B, Geri M. Mandelbrot granular raft. Physical Review Fluids. 2023 Nov 1;8(11).
Bantawa M, Keshavarz B, Geri M, Bouzid M, Divoux T, McKinley GH, et al. The hidden hierarchical nature of soft particulate gels. Nature Physics. 2023 Aug 1;19(8):1178–84.
Rathinaraj JDJ, Keshavarz B, McKinley GH. Why the Cox-Merz rule and Gleissle mirror relation work: A quantitative analysis using the Wagner integral framework with a fractional Maxwell kernel. Physics of Fluids. 2022 Mar 1;34(3).
Rathinaraj JDJ, McKinley GH, Keshavarz B. Incorporating rheological nonlinearity into fractional calculus descriptions of fractal matter and multi-scale complex fluids. Fractal and Fractional. 2021 Dec 1;5(4).
Yamani S, Keshavarz B, Raj Y, Zaki TA, McKinley GH, Bischofberger I. Spectral Universality of Elastoinertial Turbulence. Physical review letters. 2021 Aug;127(7):074501.
Keshavarz B, Zarket B, Amin S, Rughani R, Muthukrishnan S, Holten-Andersen N, et al. Characterizing viscoelastic properties of synthetic and natural fibers and their coatings with a torsional pendulum. Soft matter. 2021 May;17(17):4578–93.
Keshavarz B, Rodrigues DG, Champenois J-B, Frith MG, Ilavsky J, Geri M, et al. Time-connectivity superposition and the gel/glass duality of weak colloidal gels. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2021 Apr;118(15):e2022339118.
Keshavarz B, Houze EC, Moore JR, Koerner MR, McKinley GH. Rotary atomization of newtonian and viscoelastic liquids. Physical Review Fluids. 2020 Mar 1;5(3).
Lai E, Keshavarz B, Holten-Andersen N. Deciphering How the Viscoelastic Properties of Mussel-Inspired Metal-Coordinate Transiently Cross-Linked Gels Dictate Their Tack Behavior. Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. 2019 Dec;35(48):15979–84.
Keshavarz B, Geri M, McKinley GH. Viscoelastic fishbones. Physical Review Fluids. 2019 Oct 24;4(10).
Geri M, Keshavarz B, Divoux T, Clasen C, Curtis DJ, McKinley GH. Time-Resolved Mechanical Spectroscopy of Soft Materials via Optimally Windowed Chirps. Physical Review X. 2018 Dec 6;8(4).
Bouzid M, Keshavarz B, Geri M, Divoux T, Del Gado E, McKinley GH. Computing the linear viscoelastic properties of soft gels using an optimally windowed chirp protocol. Journal of Rheology. 2018 Jul 1;62(4):1037–50.
Geri M, Keshavarz B, McKinley GH, Bush JWM. Thermal delay of drop coalescence. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2017 Dec 25;833.
Sadman K, Wang Q, Chen Y, Keshavarz B, Jiang Z, Shull KR. Influence of Hydrophobicity on Polyelectrolyte Complexation. Macromolecules. 2017 Dec 12;50(23):9417–26.
Regitsky AU, Keshavarz B, McKinley GH, Holten-Andersen N. Rheology as a Mechanoscopic Method to Monitor Mineralization in Hydrogels. Biomacromolecules. 2017 Dec;18(12):4067–74.
Keshavarz B, Divoux T, Manneville S, McKinley GH. Nonlinear Viscoelasticity and Generalized Failure Criterion for Polymer Gels. ACS macro letters. 2017 Jul;6(7):663–7.
Keshavarz B, Houze EC, Moore JR, Koerner MR, McKinley GH. Ligament Mediated Fragmentation of Viscoelastic Liquids. Physical review letters. 2016 Oct;117(15):154502.
Eral HB, Safai ER, Keshavarz B, Kim JJ, Lee J, Doyle PS. Governing Principles of Alginate Microparticle Synthesis with Centrifugal Forces. Langmuir. 2016 Jul 19;32(28):7198–209.
Keshavarz B, McKinley GH. Micro-scale extensional rheometry using hyperbolic converging/diverging channels and jet breakup. Biomicrofluidics. 2016 Jul 1;10(4).
Comtet J, Keshavarz B, Bush JWM. Drop impact and capture on a thin flexible fiber. Soft Matter. 2015 Oct 1;12(1):149–56.
Keshavarz B, Sharma V, Houze EC, Koerner MR, Moore JR, Cotts PM, et al. Studying the effects of elongational properties on atomization of weakly viscoelastic solutions using Rayleigh Ohnesorge Jetting Extensional Rheometry (ROJER). Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics. 2015 Aug 1;222:171–89.
Sharma V, Haward SJ, Serdy J, Keshavarz B, Soderlund A, Threlfall-Holmes P, et al. The rheology of aqueous solutions of ethyl hydroxy-ethyl cellulose (EHEC) and its hydrophobically modified analogue (hmEHEC): Extensional flow response in capillary break-up, jetting (ROJER) and in a cross-slot extensional rheometer. Soft Matter. 2015 Apr 28;11(16):3251–70.
Keshavarz B, Green SI, Eadie DT. Elastic liquid jet impaction on a high-speed moving surface. AIChE Journal. 2012 Nov 1;58(11):3568–77.
Keshavarz B, Green SI, Davy MH, Eadie DT. Newtonian liquid jet impaction on a high-speed moving surface. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow. 2011 Dec 1;32(6):1216–25.