Dr.

Wonjae Choi
Mechanical Engineering Professor-Focus on nanoscale fluid dynamics
UTD Richardson, TX
10/2/15
10:00 AM

0Interview Assessment #2
My second interview was with another professor at UTD who focused
mainly on nanoscale fluid mechanics relating to a common boundary
between 2 portions of matter, or simply the small scale fluid dynamics of the
interaction between 2 objects. The professor that I interviewed this time was
Dr. Wonjae Choi. Dr. Choi is also a mechanical engineer and a mechanical
engineer professor, however the main different between the 2 professors
work and research is that Dr. Chois research involves more experimentation
and is more hands on while Dr. Ashuris , the professor that I interview
previously, research is much more computational. For this reason, both
professors were housed in different buildings on the UTD campus. Dr. Choi
works and conducts research in the Natural Science and Engineering
Research Lab. He has done all three of his degrees in mechanical
engineering. He completed his bachelors and masters at Seoul National
University and completed his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Originally Dr. Choi did not initially wish to work with fluid
dynamics but found a liking for it after he began his doctorate at MIT. With
his many years of experience, Dr. Choi has had many opportunities to work
in the field and his work at UTD is his latest opportunity.
We began the interview with a short tour of the Research Lab and his
laboratory where he explained some of the equipment he used on a daily

Dr. Wonjae Choi

Mechanical Engineering Professor-Focus on nanoscale fluid dynamics
UTD Richardson, TX
10/2/15
10:00 AM

basis and what they were used for. Comparing Dr. Chois workspace to Dr.
Ashuris, it was clear to see how their daily lives were different as well. I
started the interview off with asking about how what he does relates to
aerospace engineering. He explained that nanoscale fluid dynamics and
aerospace engineering are 2 very different field, however there is some
intermingling. He explained that they look at 2 very different sizes of fluids
but both apply the same fundamental ideas. He began with explaining the
basis of mechanical engineering and the model they assume and use for
approximations. At the basis of mechanical engineering lies continuum
mechanics. Continuum mechanics basically says that since most of the time
you do not look at the fluid on an atomic level, you can approximate that the
fluid acts as a single abstract material rather than as molecules. This
assumption allows for much simpler calculations and still allows much of the
calculations to hold true in real life. The smaller of a scale you go, the less
applicable the assumption applies. Luckily for Dr. Choi, the assumption still
applies to his work.
Dr. Choi was a very knowledgeable man who thankfully explained a lot
about fluid dynamics and how it relates between different scales and
different fields. He explained the differences between macroscale and
nanoscale fluid dynamics. He also explained how fluid dynamics might apply
to space and how some scientists believe that the flow of galaxies and stars
may act as a fluid. As we talked more about his work, he explained how there

Dr. Wonjae Choi

Mechanical Engineering Professor-Focus on nanoscale fluid dynamics
UTD Richardson, TX
10/2/15
10:00 AM

are 2 main distinction in his field, analytical and experimental. Analytical

focuses more on working with the fundamental equation of fluid dynamics,
the Navier-Stokes equation. They work more with manipulating the equation
to best fit what they want and involves a bit more theory than the work he
does, which is more experimental. His work also involves a bit of
manipulation of equations, but the biggest component is experimentation.
Dr. Choi also went into some detail on the sort of research he has done
and some that he is currently doing. Dr. Choi is working on a wide range of
projects that satiates all fronts of his interests. We first talked about a project
he was working on with the Navy trying to reduce the friction between the
water and the hull of the ship, making the ship more silent and efficient. This
projects details is confidential, but Dr. Choi was kind enough to go over the
basic mechanics of it. Part of this research and other research he was doing
was based off of the structure of the lotus flower. Lotus flowers are
completely hydrophobic, meaning the repel water completely. This is a huge
advantage allowing it to grow even in the toughest and dirtiest conditions as
is repels everything else except water that it need. He was applying this sort
of hydrophobic layer that acted similar to how lotus flower leaves repelled
water. Other research he was doing was looking into why lotus flowers had
this advantage while ordinary and other leaves didnt. If it is such a good
trait to have, why havent other plants developed it as well?

Dr. Wonjae Choi

Mechanical Engineering Professor-Focus on nanoscale fluid dynamics
UTD Richardson, TX
10/2/15
10:00 AM

The final area he was researching was blood flow in capillaries. His main
concern was that the body used about much more energy to cover a small
distance in capillaries but used a relatively small portion of energy to
transport blood over a large distance such as one meter. He estimated that
80% of the energy is used traveling about a couple of inches while 20% is
used covering meters. This is obviously inefficient design, yet our bodies still
continue with this process. So his research looked into why our bodies
choose the less efficient process over a more efficient one.
Towards the end of the interview we talked more about his work life
and his experience thus far with engineering and teaching. Dr. Choi is a
relatively young professor and has just began 3 years ago. We talked about
why he chose being a professor over doing work in the industry. One key
point Dr. Choi brought up was that as a professor, you are sort of you own
boss. And that freedom gave him flexibility as well as offered him a home to
conduct research to his liking and freely as well. The main drawbacks he
expressed concern about were how there were often nights where he would
have to stay over because of the research he was doing, meaning he would
not see his family for long periods. However he said that he is usually able to
balance his family life and work life well enough so that he gets the best of
both worlds. Through this interview I was expecting a brief introduction to
fluid dynamics as well as some insight into his research. Instead of a formal
interview, our conversation quickly became a casual conversation where we

Dr. Wonjae Choi

Mechanical Engineering Professor-Focus on nanoscale fluid dynamics
UTD Richardson, TX
10/2/15
10:00 AM

talked about many things. He gave me such a deep explanation of his field
as well as gave me many reading suggestions that interested him. He said
that these books could possibly be used as a springboard for original work
ideas. He also offered his lab if my work ever required the use of such
equipment. Overall, Dr. Choi was an extremely passionate researcher who
had an obvious love for his work. He was also very welcoming and is very
interested in helping other ISM students who have fields related to his. I am
very grateful for the time Dr. Choi spent talking with me and learnt and great
deal from this interview.