Joshua Prince

PhD Student

Joshua's primary research interest lies in developing ecotoxicological models for a new class of potentially harmful pollutants: nanomaterials. His current focus in this area lies in developing quantitative models for nanoparticle bioaccumulation in environmental biofilms such as periphyton. This involves developing a first-principles, quantitative framework for diffusion driven mass-transport of nanoparticles in biological hydrogels such as biofilm extra-cellular matrix. Joshua is taking a multi-scale modelling approach to developing this framework, including both macroscale transport via numerical solutions to mass-transport partial differential equations, and nanoscale transport via discrete-element simulations using course-grained Langevin dynamics. Through his macroscale modelling work, he has been able to a priori predict deviations from first-order mass-transfer kinetics observed in experimental literature [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq7YZz8gH1I].  To develop his python codes which implement his numerical solutions to his PDEs, he utilizes the SPYDER IDE. Josh hopes to use these models for nanoparticle transport in biological hydrogels to develop mass-transfer relations for nanoparticle uptake by environmental biofilms for use in ecotoxicological models. Joshua also has a policy interest in water pollution, and is working to develop a feasible approach to regulating nanomaterials using current United States water pollution law. 

Contact Information

  • Office Location: 231 Wilkinson

Education

  • University of Minnosota-Twin Cities, BS Chemical Engineering 2019