Cari Dutcher

Cari Dutcher
Associate Professor, Mechanical EngineeringContact
Mechanical Engineering Room 113 111 Church Street SEMinneapolis, MN 55455
Affiliations
Education
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2009
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2004
Professional Background
Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, 2019-present
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota, 2013-2019
Postdoc, Air Quality Research Center, University of California, Davis, 2009-2013
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2009
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2004
Scientific & Professional Societies
- American Association of Aerosol Research (AAAR)
- Society of Rheology (SOR)
Biography
Cari Dutcher is enthusiastic about using thermodynamic and fluid mechanic principles to better understand multiphase systems, including aerosols, suspensions, emulsions, and foams. She holds a joint appointment as associate professor of Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS), and serves on the Board of Directors for American Association of Aerosol Research (AAAR).
Lab
Complex Fluids and Multiphase Flows Laboratory - ME 265
ME Research Areas
Particle Technology
Fluid Mechanics
ME Impact Areas
Energy Transition
Environment & Sustainability
Human Health
- Aerosols, suspensions, and emulsions
- Droplet surfaces and interfaces
- Thermodynamics and phase of aqueous solutions
- Two-phase microfluidic flows
- Two-phase Taylor-Couette flows
- Extensional and interfacial rheology of dilute solutions and emulsions
Honors and Awards
- George W. Taylor Career Development Award (2019)
- McKnight Land-Grant Professorship (2017-2019)
- American Associate of Aerosol Research (AAAR)ME 8113
- Kenneth T. Whitby Award (2017)
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2016-2021)
- ACS-PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award (2016-2018)
- 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2015-2017)
- National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2011-2013)
- American Association of University Women Dissertation Year Fellowship (2008-2009)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2005-2008)
Selected Publications
- Wilkinson, N.A. and Dutcher, C.S. Axial Mixing and Vortex Stability to in-situ Radial Injection in Taylor-Couette Laminar and Turbulent Flows, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 854, 324-347 (2018)
- Narayan, S., Moravec, D. B., Hauser, B. G., Dallas, A. J., Dutcher, C.S. Understanding the impact of droplet size and surfactant transport on liquid-liquid separation of water-in-fuel microemulsions. Energy and Fuels, 32 (7), 7326-7337 (2018).
- Nandy, L. and Dutcher, C.S. Phase Behavior of Ammonium Sulfate with Organic Acid Solutions in Aqueous Aerosol Mimics Using Microfluidic Traps. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 122 (13), 3480-2490 (2018)
- Metaxas, A., Raethke, E., Wilkinson, N., Dutcher, C.S. In situ polymer flocculation and growth in Taylor-Couette flows, Soft Matter, 14, 8627-8635 (2018).
- Metcalf, A.R., Narayan, S., Dutcher, C.S., A Review of Microfluidic Concepts and Applications for Atmospheric Aerosol Science, Aerosol Science & Technology, 52 (3), 310-329 (2018).