Rate My Professor Uddalok Sen

Uddalok Sen, known professionally as Udo, serves as an Assistant Professor with tenure of Soft Matter Physics in the Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter group at Wageningen University and Research (WUR) in the Netherlands. He leads the Physics of Soft Matter (PhySM) team, addressing interdisciplinary questions in both living and non-living soft matter systems from the perspectives of hydrodynamics and continuum mechanics. As a trained experimental physicist and applied mathematician, Sen and his team utilize table-top experiments, ultra-high-speed microscopy, mathematical modeling, and numerical simulations to observe unseen phenomena and explain complex dynamics. His research encompasses crystallization processes, bottom-up assembly of colloidal materials, functional fluid interfaces, adhesion mechanisms in insects, biophysics related to developmental biology, and microbial responses to climate change. Sen is fascinated by the ubiquity of soft matter science across biological systems and technological applications, with key interests in biophysics, droplets, soft matter, and dynamical systems.

Sen obtained his PhD in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago between 2016 and 2019, where his thesis titled 'Manipulating Liquid Volumes by Wettability-Patterned Substrates' examined liquid-surface interactions. Subsequently, he pursued postdoctoral research at the Physics of Fluids group in the Department of Science and Technology at the University of Twente. His academic output has amassed over 515 citations, as per Google Scholar, with 46 publications documented on ResearchGate. Notable publications include 'Scaling Laws in Directional Spreading of Droplets on Wettability-Confined Diverging Tracks' (Langmuir, 2018; 65 citations), 'The Retraction of Jetted Slender Viscoelastic Liquid Filaments' (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2021; 47 citations), 'Dynamic Characterization of a Ducted Inverse Diffusion Flame Using Recurrence Analysis' (Combustion Science and Technology, 2018; 45 citations), and 'Taylor–Culick Retractions and the Influence of the Surroundings' (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2022; 43 citations). Sen was awarded the Faydor Litvin Graduate Award at UIC in 2016 and has received NWO grants, including funding for investigating harmful algal blooms in melting polar ice and evaporation-driven self-assembly in colloidal systems. He has delivered invited lectures such as 'Bursting Soap Bubbles: Does the Ambient Matter?' at the University of Seville.