Rate My Professor John Bostwick

Joshua Bostwick is the Stanzione Collaboration Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University, part of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, where he joined the faculty in January 2016. Previously, he served as the Golovin Assistant Professor at Northwestern University and as a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University. Bostwick received his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University in 2011. He holds dual B.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, one in Civil Engineering and Mechanics and another in Physics, both awarded in 2005. His career trajectory reflects a strong foundation in fluid mechanics and applied mathematics, transitioning from postdoctoral research to tenure-track positions at leading institutions.

Bostwick's research focuses on interfacial flows, emphasizing wetting and the interactions of liquids with soft substrates through elastocapillarity. His interests extend to pattern formation on interfaces, surface tension-driven phenomena, complex fluids, soft matter, hydrodynamic stability, and bifurcation theory. He employs simple, rigorous mathematical models compared against experiments to uncover fundamental physics. Key publications include 'Stability of Constrained Capillary Surfaces' in Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics (2015), 'Droplet Motions Fill a Periodic Table' in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2019), 'Elastocapillary Transition in Gel Drop Oscillations' in Physical Review Letters (2019), 'Geometry of Polygonal Hydraulic Jumps and the Role of Hysteresis' in Physical Review Fluids (2020), 'Asymmetric Instability in Thin-Film Flow Down a Fiber' in Physical Review Fluids (2021), and 'Plateau-Rayleigh Instability in a Soft Viscoelastic Material' in Soft Matter (2021). In 2022, he was appointed to the Stanzione Collaboration Associate Professorship, recognizing his contributions in teaching and research within Engineering. Bostwick demonstrates impact through mentoring, notably advising Ph.D. students Vanessa Kern and Joshua McCraney to completion following their advisor's passing, leading to continued publications. His scholarship, cited over 1,900 times, advances mechanical engineering and soft matter sciences.