Research

Research Activities

Dr. Jacobs research interests include phase transitions of binary fluid mixtures, polymer-solvent systems, living polymers, and biological proteins including measurements of turbidity, heat capacity, viscosity, density, and the coexistence curve on these systems. He has also developed experiments in the emerging area of granular materials and self-organized criticality.

Recent Publications: (*indicates undergraduate student)

Self-Organized Criticality

Rachel M. Costello*, K.L. Cruz*, Christie Egnatuk*, D.T. Jacobs, Matthew C. Krivos*, Tim Sir Louis*, Rebecca J. Urban*, and Hanna Wagner*, "Self-organized criticality in a bead pile" Phys. Rev. E 67, 041304 (2003).
S.K. Grumbacher*, K.M. McEwen*, D.A. Halverson*, D.T. Jacobs and J. Lindner, "Self-ogranized criticality: an experiment with sandpiles" Am. J. Phys. 61, 3 (1993).

Small Molecule Liquid-Liquid Systems

Nathan J. Utt*, S.Y. Lehman, and D.T. Jacobs, "Heat capacity of the liquid-liquid mixture nitrobenzene and dodecane near the critical point" J. Chem. Phys. 127, 104505 (2007).
Amy Lytle* and D.T. Jacobs, "Turbidity determination of the critical exponent η in the liquid-liquid mixture methanol and cyclohexane" J. Chem. Phys. 120, 5709-16 (2004).
Clinton I. Braganza* and D.T. Jacobs, "Turbidity of the liquid-liquid mixture perfluoroheptane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane near the critical point" J. Chem. Phys. 117, 9876-9879 (2002).
A.W. Nowicki*, M. Ghosh*, S. M. McClellan*, and D.T. Jacobs, "Heat Capacity and Turbidity Near the Critical Point of Succinonitrile-Water" J. Chem. Phys. 114, 4625 (2001).
E.R. Oby* and D.T. Jacobs, "Heat capacity of the liquid-liquid mixture perfluoroheptane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane near the critical point" J. Chem. Phys., 114, 4918 (2001).
D.T. Jacobs, S.M.Y. Lau*, A. Mukherjee*, and C.A. Williams*, "Measuring Turbidity in a Near-Critical, Liquid-Liquid System: A precise, automated experiment" Intl. J. of Thermophys., 20, 877 (1999).
Paul F. Rebillot* and D.T. Jacobs, "Heat Capacity Near the Critical Point of Aniline-Cyclohexane" J. Chem. Phys., 109, 4009 (1998).
D.T. Jacobs and S.C. Greer, "On the amplitude anomaly in the mass density near a liquid-liquid critical point" Phys. Rev. E. 54, 5358 (1996).
D.T. Jacobs, "Turbidity of a binary fluid mixture: determining eta" in Third Microgravity Fluid Physics Conference (NASA Conf. Pub 3338, 1996) pp. 75-80.
D.T. Jacobs, D.E. Kuhl*, and C.E. Selby*, "Coexistence curve of perfluoromethylcyclohexane-isopropyl alcohol" J. Chem. Phys. 105, 588 (1996).
A.C. Flewelling*, R.J. DeFonseka*, N. Khaleeli*, J. Partee* and D.T. Jacobs, "Heat capacity anomaly near the lower critical consolute point of triethylamine-water"J. Chem. Phys. 104, 8048 (1996).
L.W. DaMore* and D.T. Jacobs, "Turbidity of Deuterated Isobutyric Acid and Heavy Water in the One-Phase Region near the Critical Solution Point" J. Chem. Phys. 97, 464 (1992).

Polymer-Solvent Systems

D.T. Jacobs, Clinton I. Braganza*, Andy P. Brinck*, Adam B. Cohen*, Mark A. Lightfoot*, Christopher J. Locke*, Sarah J. Suddendorf*, Henry R. Timmers*, Angela L. Triplett*, Nithya L. Venkataraman*, and Mark T. Wellons*, "Universality in 8-arm star polystyrene and methylcyclohexane mixtures near the critical point" J. Chem. Phys. 127, 124905 (2007).
S.G. Stafford*, A.C. Ploplis* and D.T. Jacobs, "Turbidity of Polystyrene in Diethyl Malonate in the One-Phase Region Near the Critical Solution Point" Macromolecules 23, 470 (1990).
J.L. Tveekrem, S.C. Greer and D.T. Jacobs, "The Dielectric Constant near the Liquid-Liquid Critical Point for Polystyrene in Diethyl Malonate" Macromolecules 21, 147 (1988).

Liquid Crystal Mixtures

A. Christine Rauch*, Shila Garg, and D.T. Jacobs, "Phase transitions in a nematic binary mixture" J. Chem. Phys. 116, 2213-2218 (2002).

Actin

Jeremy N.A. Matthews, Peter B. Yim, D.T. Jacobs, Necoise D. Peters, Jeffrey G. Forbes, and S.C. Greer, "The polymerization of actin" J. Chem. Phys. 123, 074904 (2005).

Living Polymers

Krishna Pendyala, S.C. Greer, and D.T. Jacobs, "Poly(α-methylstyrene) in methylcyclohexane: densities and viscosities near the liquid-liquid critical point" J. Chem. Phys, 115, 9995-10000 (2001).
Krishna Pendyala, Xiangyun Gu, Kevin P. Andrews, Karen Gruner, D.T. Jacobs, and S.C. Greer, "Living Poly(alpha-methylstyrene) near the polymerization line: VIII. mass density, viscosity, and surface tension in tetrahydrofuran" J. Chem. Phys, 114, 4312-4322 (2001).

Chaos

S. DeSouza-Machado*, R.W. Rollins, D.T. Jacobs, and J.L. Hartman, "Studying Chatic Systems Using Microcomputer Simulations and Lyapunov Exponents" Am. J. Phys. 58, 321 (1990).

Educational

Francesca M.F. Mascarenhas*, C.M. Spillmann*, John F. Lindner and D.T. Jacobs, "Hearing the Shape of a Rod by the Sound of Its Collision" Am. J. Phys. 66, 692 (1998).
S.B. Ngubane* and D.T. Jacobs, "The Coexistence Curve of a Binary Fluid Mixture" Am. J. Phys. 51, 542 (1986).

Recent Grant Support

National Science Foundation (MRI)	$91,090	7/06 - 6/09
National Science Foundation (collaborative, pending)	$119,545	5/08 - 4/11
Petroleum Research Fund	$50,000	7/03 - 8/07
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	$199,500	1/98 - 1/04
Petroleum Research Fund	$25,000	4/97 - 8/99
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	$200,000	1/93 -12/96
NASA Summer Grant	$15,100	1992
Research Corporation summer grant	$3,000	1992
National Science Foundation (RUI)	$122,000	4/88-9/91
National Science Foundation (RUI)	$100,930	5/84-11/87

Summer Research Students

Our Research Experience for Undergraduates Site information

2006
1. Mary Elizabeth Mills (Agnes Scott '09)
2. Henry Timmers (Wooster '09)
3. Nathan Utt (Wooster '07)
4. Mike Zappitello (Wooster '09)
2005
1. Megan Miller (Wells '06)
2. Ruth Shewmon (MIT '08)
3. Sarah Suddendorf (Wooster '07)
4. Mark Wellons (Wooster '08)
2004
1. Mark Lightfoot (Wooster '05)
2. Tuan Nguyen (Univ of Oklahoma '06)
3. Angie Triplett (Wooster '06)
2003
1. Elizabeth Baker (Bucknell '06)
2. Andy Brinck (Wooster '05)
3. Adam Cohen (Bucknell '06)
2002
1. Austin Carter (Wooster '05)
2. Rebecca Urban (Wooster '03)
3. Nithya Venkataraman (Wooster '04)
2001
1. Clinton Braganza (Wooster '03)
2. Ryan Hartschuh (Wooster '03)
3. Amy Lytle (Wooster '01)
2000
1. Emily Oby (Denison '02)
2. Christie Egnatuk (Wooster '03)
3. Andrew Nowicki (Wooster '00)
1999
1. Andrew Nowicki (Wooster '00)
2. Amy Lytle (Wooster '01)
3. Hanna Wagner (Ohio Northern '01)
1998
1. Geoff Bonvallet (Wooster '00)
2. Shaun Burdette-McClellan (Mount Union '99)
3. Rachel Costello (Wooster '01)
1997
1. Kelle Cruz (U of PA, '00)
2. Paul Rebillot (Wooster '99)
3. Carrie Williams (Wooster '99)
1996
1. Carrie Williams (Wooster '99)
2. Stephanie Lau (U.C. Berkeley, '98)
1995
1. Delaney DeMay (Wooster '97)
2. Noah Johnston (Wooster '97)
3. Ali Ozgenc (Wooster '96)
4. Salman Saeed (Wooster '96)

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djacobs@wooster.edu
Donald Jacobs