Chinmay Gangal

Chinmay Gangal is a PhD candidate whose research examines flow-induced crystallization (FIC) in polymers using computational methods. Specifically, he is developing computational methodologies to study the first stage of FIC, the flow-enhanced nucleation (FEN) of crystals in polymers, a process with relevance to a number of important industrial processes such as the fabrication of fibers, films, packaging, and composites. A MathWorks Fellowship will support Chinmay’s ongoing research to understand FEN through molecular simulations that examine four key FEN parameters: different flow types, temperatures, strain rates, and polydispersity. He is also developing a new methodology for cases where the activation barrier for crystal nucleation is too high to surmount by brute force molecular dynamics simulations, using an advanced technique called forward flux sampling. In the future, he plans to apply machine learning techniques to the identification of crystalline clusters within his simulations. Chinmay’s work is bringing new capacity in molecular-level modeling to the MathWorks community and has the potential to provide important new insights and strategies in polymer modeling, with significant benefits for research and industry.