• Office Address: Dougherty Engineering Building
• Phone: 865-974-2933
• E-mail: rcorder@utk.edu

Education

• BS and MS in Chemical Engineering, University of Alabama, 2014
• PhD in Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2020
• Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Purdue University College of Engineering, 2021-2023

Ria Corder received BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama in 2014. She earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University in 2020 and then worked at Purdue University as a Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow from 2021-2023.

In her doctoral research, she used rheology to characterize complex and dynamic soft materials including enzymatically-treated tumors and photopolymerizing coordinated ionic liquids. Her postdoctoral work examined the effects of non-adsorbing polymers on the rheology of 3D printable concentrated ceramic particle suspensions. Corder’s research focus is in applying principles from rheology, fluid dynamics, and polymer science in the design of soft materials.

Awards and Recognitions

• Outstanding Postdoc Award, Purdue University College of Engineering, 2023
• Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, Purdue University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, 2022
• Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship, Purdue University College of Engineering, 2021
• Praxair Exceptional Teaching Assistant, N.C. State Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2019
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014
• Goldwater Scholarship, Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, 2013

Professional Service

• Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• Member of the Society of Rheology (SoR)
• Member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

• Rheology
• Soft materials
• Complex fluids
• Polymer-particle suspensions
• Polymer gels
• Additive manufacturing

Publications

Selected recent publications. View Google Scholar for a complete list of publications.

• Corder, R. D.; Chen, Y.-J.; Pibulchinda, P.; Youngblood, J. P.; Ardekani, A. M.; Erk, K. A. “Rheology of 3D Printable Ceramic Suspensions: Effects of Non-Adsorbing Polymer on Discontinuous Shear Thickening.” Soft Matter 2023, 19 (5), 882-891.
• Dufficy M. K.; Corder, R. D.; Dennis, K. A.; Fedkiw, P. S.; Khan, S. A. “Guar Gel Binders for Silicon Nanoparticle Electrodes: Relating Binder Rheology to Electrode Performance.” ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021, 13 (43), 51403-51413.
• Corder, R. D.; Gadi, S. V.; Vachieri, R. B.; Jayes, F. L.; Cullen, J. M.; Khan, S. A.; Taylor, D. K. “Using Rheology to Quantify the Effects of Localized Collagenase Treatments on Uterine Fibroid Digestion.” Acta Biomater. 2021, 134, 443-452.
• Corder, R. D.; Adhikari, P., Burroughs, M. C.; Rojas, O. J.; Khan, S. A. “Cellulose Nanocrystals for Gelation and Percolation-Induced Reinforcement of a Photocurable Poly(vinyl alcohol) Derivative.” Soft Matter 2020, 16 (37), 8602-8611.
• Corder, R. D.; Dudick, S. C.; Bara, J. E.; Khan, S. A. “Photorheology and Gelation during Polymerization of Coordinated Ionic Liquids.” ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2020, 2 (6), 2397-2405.