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Department of Physics & Astronomy |  |
Pieter B. VisscherProfessor Theoretical condensed-matter physics The unifying theme of Professor Visscher's work is the use of hierarchical and recursive methods to describe interacting systems. This includes the application of renormalization-group methods to hydrodynamics and the glass transition; recently he has applied hierarchical methods to magnetic switching phenomena in thin films and colloids. The latter problem is of interest to the UA's Center for Materials for Information Technology (MINT) and to the computer industry. As one of the principal investigators of the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), Professor Visscher has developed methods for computer simulation of colloidal suspensions of magnetic particles that are used to manufacture magnetic tapes and disks. His group has made the first applications of hierarchical fast multi-pole methods (first used in astrophysical simulations) to systems of magnetic nanoparticles. These simulations predict a fractal-like gel structure for magnetic colloids and allow the calculation of their magnetic susceptibility. Susceptibility measurement has been used for some time in the information-storage industry to assay the quality of magnetic inks and can now be directly related to microstructural models. Professor Visscher received his doctoral degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1971. He joined the faculty of The University of Alabama in 1978. |