Dr. Christov’s work has solved outstanding problems and provided new understanding of fundamental mechanics processes, ranging from flow and mixing of complex fluids, to microscale fluid–structure interactions, to interfacial instabilities, and even nonlinear mechanical waves. He publishes and disseminates his work widely:
62 journal papers (26 while at Purdue),
5 book chapters (3 while at Purdue), and >60 invited conference/seminar
talks (>30 while at Purdue). Dr. Christov’s works have had a significant impact on the scientific community, as demonstrated by their rate of citation (>1200 citations, >860 since 2015, with an
h-index of 22 according to
Google Scholar). Dr. Christov’s detailed mathematical analyses of complex engineering flow problems has yielded new predictive theories and rationalized poorly understood experiments across several areas of science and engineering. For example, his theory of the diffusion of granular materials (funded by the
National Science Foundation) resolved a
paradox in soft condensed matter physics. His
detailed models of microscale flow-induced deformation of soft matter (also funded by the
National Science Foundation) provided new
predictive models for use in microfluidic device fabrication/design; it also led to a new micromechanical measurement
technique for the elastic properties of thin films. The impact of Dr. Christov’s work is also evidenced by the success of his
mentees, as of Spring 2020, including 15 undergraduate researchers (6 of whom continued to graduate school), 5 MSME and 6 PhD students. Former group members have obtained positions at companies such as Cummins, academic institutions such as the University of Nottingham and the University of Rochester, or continued to top graduate programs such as MIT, Northwestern and Columbia.
