Chemical Engineering PhD specialised in Materials/Polymer Science

David Nieto Simavilla
2612 G Street, Apt 11. Sacramento, CA 95816.
Phone: (312) 823-8090 E-Mail: dnietosi@hawk.iit.edu
Experimental Design, Setup and Validation:
– Engineering and assembly of a novel Infrared Imaging experimental setup to measure thermal transport
properties of oriented materials.
– Responsible for the design, selection and implementation of several mechanical components of optical
and rheological experimental setups.
– Expertise in thermal design and analysis.
Data Acquisition, Analysis and Modeling:
– Development of analytic models and fitting procedures to characterize the materials dynamic response.
– Formulation and validation of a transport model explaining Wine Tears phenomena.
– Software development for data acquisition and statistical analysis with Matlab.
– Characterization of accuracy and time response of the measuring devices.
– Data acquisition and synchronization with LabView.
Laboratory Experience:
– Expertise with infrared thermography measurements on anisotropic materials and interfacial Marangoni
driven effects.
– Measurement of thermal conductivity tensor components using Forced Rayleigh Scattering technology.
– Mass diffusion in polymer melts.
– Rheological and mechanical characterization of polymer materials by SAOS and creep experiments.
– UVIS absorption spectroscopy.
– Polymer synthesis through extrusion, solvent casting and chemical cross-linking.
– Laser and optics alignment and calibration procedures.
– Development and construction of a portable system capable of measuring green house gas emissions in
real traffic conditions.
Skills:
Database and Tools: Python, Matlab, Labview, MS Office, Latex, Inkscape, OriginPro.
Teaching and Training:
• Teacher assistantship at Illinois Institute of Technology. August 2012 – May 2013
• Training of graduate students in the laboratory.
Spoken Languages: Advanced level in Spanish and English. Basic level in French.
Certifications and Professional Development:
IRTG: Soft Matter Summer School. Mittelwihr, France: Summer 2014
• “Soft Materials under External Constraints”
Page 2
edX MIT: 6.00.1x Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python Fall 2013
6.00.2x Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python Spring 2014
3.091.x Introduction to Solid State Chemistry Summer 2014
NSF Summer Institute on Nano-Mechanics/Materials/Manufacturing. May 2013
• Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing
Purdue University NanoHUB-U: Thermal Energy at the Nanoscale. Spring 2013
Publications/Presentations
Evidence of deformation-dependent heat capacity in a cross-linked elastomer subjected to uniaxial elongation. David Nieto
Simavilla, David C. Venerus and Jay D. Schieber. In preparation.
Tears of wine: new insights on an old phenomenon. David C. Venerus, David Nieto Simavilla and Alex D. Nikolov.
Under review.
Investigation of anisotropic thermal transport in polymers through active infrared thermography. David Nieto Simavilla
and David C. Venerus. Journal of Heat Transfer 2014.
Anisotropic thermal transport in a crosslinked polyisoprene rubber subjected to uniaxial elongation. David Nieto
Simavilla, Jay D. Schieber, David C. Venerus. Journal of Polymer Science: Part B. 2012.
Evidence for deformation dependence of heat capacity in cross-linked natural rubber. Talk at the 86th Meeting of the
Society of Rheology (2014). Philadelphia.
Anisotropic thermal conduction in polymers and its molecular origins. Talk at American Physical Society Meeting,
March 2014.
Investigation of anisotropic thermal transport in polymers using infrared thermography. Talk at the 85th Meeting of the
Society of Rheology (2013). Montreal.
Investigation of thermal transport in polymers using infrared thermography. Poster presentation at the 86th Meeting of
the Society of Rheology (2014). Philadelphia. Second place postdoctoral fellow poster award.
Anisotropic thermal transport in polymer networks subjected to uniaxial elongation. Poster presentation at the 84th
Meeting of the Society of Rheology (2013). Pasadena.
Work Experience:
• Research Assistant. Illinois Institute of Technology. 2010 – Present
• Teacher Assistant. Illinois Institute of Technology. 2012 – 2013
• Undergraduate Research Assistant. Polytechnic University of Madrid. 2007 – 2009
Education:
• B.S. Industrial Engineering. Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain). Spring 2009
• M.S. Chemical Engineering. Illinois Institute of Technology. GPA: 3.65 Fall 2011
• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering. Illinois Institute of Technology. GPA: 3.75 Summer 2014
Professional Affiliations:
• Society of Rheology Since January 2012
• American Physical Society Since January 2013
• American Alpine Club Since February 2013