Professor
Contact Information
- Office Address: 320 Dougherty Engineering Building
- Phone: 865-974-9596
- E-mail: bje@utk.edu
- LinkedIn Profile
Education
- PhD, University of Delaware; Chemical Engineering
- BS, University of Illinois; Chemical Engineering
Biography
Edwards earned his bachelor's degree Magna Cum Laude in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1986, and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1991. His dissertation research initially focused on the physical behavior of liquid crystalline materials under flow, but quickly branched out to include the mathematical structure of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. This dissertation work culminated in the publication (with A.N. Beris) of the textbook Thermodynamics of Flowing Systems by Oxford University Press in 1994.
After working in Europe (ETH-Zurich) as an oberassistant, he joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee as an associate professor in 2001. He was promoted to full professor in 2008. Over the course of his career, he has authored over 100 articles in engineering and scientific journals and written several book chapters. His current research continues to press the boundaries of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, particularly in the areas of polymeric liquid dynamics, molecular simulation, statistical mechanics, and flow-induced changes in physical properties.
Awards and Recognitions
- 2015 Outstanding Advisor Award, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee.
- 2013 Outstanding Teacher Award, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee.
- 2012 Tom and Ruth Clark Excellence Award in Teaching, University of Tennessee.
- 2011 College of Engineering Leon and Nancy Cole Superior Teaching Award, University of Tennessee.
- 2011 Outstanding Advisor Award, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee.
- 2010 Best of EPL 2010 Award for paper “Atomistic simulation of flow-induced crystallization at constant temperature,” C. Baig and B.J. Edwards, Europhys. Lett., 89, 36003.
- 2009 College of Engineering Research Fellow Award, University of Tennessee.
- 2009 College of Engineering Outstanding Advisor Award, University of Tennessee.
- 2009 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Advising, University of Tennessee.
- 2009 Outstanding Teacher Award, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Tennessee.
- 2009 Outstanding Advisor Award, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee.
- 2007 Tom and Ruth Clark Excellence Award in Teaching, University of Tennessee.
- 2007 Outstanding Advisor Award, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Tennessee.
- 2007 College of Engineering Research Fellow Award, University of Tennessee.
Professional Service
- Member, American Institute of Chemical Engineerg
- Member, Society of Rheology
- Member, American Society for Engineering Education
Research
- Nonequilibrium thermodynamics
- Polymer dynamics
- Rheology
- Molecular simulation
- Statistical mechanics
Publications
- B.J. Edwards, M.H. Nafar Sefiddashti, and B. Khomami. (2022). Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of polymeric liquids via atomistic simulation. Entropy, 24, 175.
- B.J. Edwards, M.H. Nafar Sefiddashti, and B. Khomami. (2021). Communication: A method for calculating the nonequilibrium entropy of a flowing polymer melt via atomistic simulation. J. Chem. Phys., 155, 111101.
- M.H. Nafar Sefiddashti, B.J. Edwards, B. Khomami, and E.S.G. Shaqfeh. (2021). A theory for the coexistence of coiled and stretched configurational phases in the extensional flow of entangled polymer melts. J. Chem. Phys., 154, 204907.
- Nafar Sefiddashti, M. H., Boudaghi-Khajehnobar, M., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (2020). High-fidelity scaling relationships for determining dissipative particle dynamics parameters from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of polymeric liquids. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61374-8
- Edwards, B., Khomami, B., & Nafar Sefiddashti, M. (2020). Flow-Induced Crystallization of a Polyethylene Liquid Above the Melting Temperature and Its Nonequilibrium Phase Diagram. In AIChE Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
- Edwards, B., Khomami, B., & Nafar Sefiddashti, M. (2020). Effects of Chain Length and Polydispersity Length on Shear Banding in Simple Shear Flow of Polymeric Melts. In AIChE Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
- Edwards, B., Khomami, B., & Nafar Sefiddashti, M. (2020). Flow-induced phenomena in planar extensional flows of entangled polyethylene liquids. In 18th International Congress on Rheology. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Edwards, B., Khomami, B., & Nafar Sefiddashti, M. (2020). Microphase separation in entangled polymeric solutions in extensional flows. In American Physical Society Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.
- Nafar Sefiddashti, M. H., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (n.d.). Flow-induced crystallization of a polyethylene liquid above the melting temperature and its nonequilibrium phase diagram. Physical Review Research, 2(1). doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.2.013035
- Sefiddashti, M. N., & Khomami, B. (2019). Microphase separation in entangled polymeric solutions. In AIChE Annual Meeting. Orlando, FL.
- Sefiddashti, M. N., & Khomami, B. (2019). Elucidating the molecular rheology of entangled polymeric fluids via direct comparison of NEMD simulations and model predictions. In AIChE Annual Meeting. Orlando, FL.
- Edwards, B. (2019). Configurational microphase separation and crystallization in elongational flow of a polyethylene melt. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Sefiddashti, M. N., & Khomami, B. (2019). Microphase separation in entangled polymeric solutions. In The Society of Rheology 91st Annual Meeting. Raleigh, NC.
- Nafar Sefiddashti, M. H., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (2019). Elucidating the Molecular Rheology of Entangled Polymeric Fluids via Comparison of Atomistic Simulations and Model Predictions. Macromolecules, 52(21), 8124-8143. doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01099
- Sefiddashti, M. H. N., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (2019). Individual molecular dynamics of an entangled polyethylene melt undergoing steady shear flow: Steady-state and transient dynamics. Polymers, 11(3). doi:10.3390/polym11030476
- Nafar Sefiddashti, M. H., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (2018). Configurational Microphase Separation in Elongational Flow of an Entangled Polymer Liquid. Physical Review Letters, 121(24). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.247802
- Aranha, M. P., & Edwards, B. J. (2018). Ion transport through single-walled carbon nanotubes: Effects of electric field and fixed surface charge. Chemical Physics Letters, 712, 95-101. doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2018.09.072
- Edwards, B. (2018). Coil-stretch transition and configurational microphase separation in elongational flow of entangled polymeric liquids. ETH, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Sefiddashti, M. N., & Khomami, B. (2018). Configurational microphase separation in elongational flow of an entangled polymer liquid. In The Society of Rheology 90th Annual Meeting. Houston, TX.
- Sefiddashti, M. N., & Khomami, B. (2018). A coil-stretch transition in planar elongational flow of an entangled polymeric melt. In The Society of Rheology 90th Annual Meeting. Houston, TX.
- Zhang, J., Li, J., Wang, A., Edwards, B. J., Yin, H., Li, Z., & Ding, Y. (2018). Improvement of the Tribological Properties of a Lithium-Based Grease by Addition of Graphene. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 18(10), 7163-7169. doi:10.1166/jnn.2018.15511
- Edwards, C. N., Nafar Sefiddashti, M. H., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (2018). In-plane and out-of-plane rotational motion of individual chain molecules in steady shear flow of polymer melts and solutions. Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling, 81, 184-196. doi:10.1016/j.jmgm.2018.03.003
- Sefiddashti, M. H. N., Edwards, B., & Khomami, B. (2018). Molecular rheology of entangled polymeric fluids: Understanding bulk flow behavior based on single molecule dynamics. In Annual European Rheology Conference. Sorrento, Italy.
- Nafar Sefiddashti, M. H., Edwards, B. J., & Khomami, B. (2018). Communication: A coil-stretch transition in planar elongational flow of an entangled polymeric melt. Journal of Chemical Physics, 148(14). doi:10.1063/1.5026792