Areas of Research
Dr. Watson's Research
Research Interests:
The sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to flow, diffusion, and various molecular events, and the ability to perform measurements noninvasively and to reconcile them spatially, provide enormous potential for significant growth of NMR within many diverse fields in science and engineering. Certainly, exciting applications have been reported within a number of industries, including chemical, food processing, building and construction, medicine, and petroleum production. Applications include on-line monitoring of processes, food quality inspections, and characterization of underground petroleum resources.
Most of the developments within magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been directed to its use as a visual tool, whereby observed signals are presented as a two-dimensional spatial image. For example, different types of biological tissue, or tissue damage, can be discerned when there are signal contrasts. MRI as a visual tool has reached a fairly mature stage, as exemplified by the routine application of MRI within the medical profession.
The utility of NMR can be significantly enhanced through quantitative analysis of the measured signals. We take advantage of the sensitivity of NMR to different molecular environments and motions to design experiments that provide for determination of properties useful for describing various physical phenomena of interest. A key feature of our approach is the development of quantitative analyses of NMR measurements, for both spectroscopic and imaging applications.
Much of our work has been directed to fluids and flow in permeable media. We have pioneered methods to determine spatial distributions the fundamental properties used to describe permeable media--the porosity and permeability--and to determine the relative amounts of fluids phases within media saturated with multiple fluid phases. We have also developed improved methods for characterizing the morphology of permeable media.
We are investigating the development of methods for probing systems that involve biological processes and flow within permeable media. Relatively little is known about how to describe such complex systems. There are many potential applications. Research in this area can lead to methods for characterizing various tissues, including bone, skin, and cartilage, and mathematical models that describe physical processes within those tissues, such as flow and diffusion; design and control of in-situ bioremediation of groundwater resources; methods for microbially-enhanced oil recovery; and characterization and evaluation of scaffolds for tissue engineering.
Teaching Interests:
CH 332 Heat Transfer Operations
CH 406 Introduction to Transport Phenomena
CH 430 Process Control and Instrumentation
CH 680 System and Parameter Identification
Other Activities:
Mountain and road biking, skiing, and handball.
Selected Publications:
Jinsoo Uh and A. Ted Watson, “Modeling Fluid Flow in Permeable Media,” in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Chemical Engineering, Eds. S. Stapf and S. Han, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2006.
Uh, Jinsoo and Watson, A. Ted, “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Determination of Surface Relaxivity in Permeable Media,” Special Issue in Honor of George Gavalas, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 43, pp. 3026–3032, 2004.
Watson, A.T., Hollenshead, J.T., Uh, J., and Chang, C.T.P., “NMR Determination of Porous Media Property Distributions,” Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy, Ed. G.A. Webb, 48,
pp. 113–144, 2002.
Seto, K., Hollenshead, J.T., Watson, A.T., Chang, C.T.P., and Slattery, J.C., “Permeability Determination Using NMR Imaging,” Transport in Porous Media, 42, pp. 351–388, 2001.
Watson, A.T., Hollenshead, J.T., and Chang, C.T.P., “Developing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Engineering Applications,” Inverse Problems in Engineering, 9(5), pp. 487–505, 2001.