Scott Shaw, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Iowa, received a prestigious Cottrell Scholar Award from Research Corporation for Science Advancement to develop a greater understanding of diverse phenomena attributed to chemical interfaces.

“The paint clinging to a wall, the anti-glare coating on eyeglasses, even the cooking oil added to a pot of boiling noodles. All these have been engineered, in varying degrees, through scientific efforts,” Shaw says.

Shaw and his research associates have chosen to tackle problems of chemical interfaces by intensely examining the behavior of thin fluid films, which they create using an innovative technique called “dynamic wetting.” It allows continuous examination of a film’s properties as it is systematically varied between relatively thick and extremely thin phases.