Dr. C. Fred Higgs III

The Particle Flow & Tribology Lab (PFTL) at Rice University researches new methodologies to predicting the behavior of granular, powder, and slurry flows in sliding contacts. Our research is conducted through the synergistic use of experiments, physics-based modeling, and computational simulations.

The research in the PFTL impacts many fields but the key applications can be found within biotechnology, energy, additive manufacturing, and micro/nanotechnology, and space (BEANS). The lab's founder and director is Prof. C. Fred Higgs III.

The research themes that the PFTL focuses on are:

• Granular flow
• Powder lubrication
• Slurry tribology
• Computational Fluid/Solid Interactions