George Petekidis received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki and a Master’s and PhD degree in polymer physics from the Department of Physics of the University of Crete working on the “Dynamics of Hairy-rod polymers”. He worked at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh with an individual Marie-Curie fellowship with Prof. P.N. Pusey on the “Dynamics of colloidal glasses under shear”. In 2002 he joined FORTH with a return Marie-Curie fellowship and subsequently as an Assistant Researcher. In 2006 he joined the Department of Materials Science and Technology of University of Crete where he is currently a Full Professor. He has served as Head of the Department (2013-2016) and president of the Hellenic Society of Rheology (2014-2017). In 2016 he received the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

His research interests lie in the area of Experimental Soft Condensed Matter. Current work focuses on the dynamics and rheology of metastable colloidal systems such as colloidal glasses and gels, utilizing a combination of experimental tools (rheometry, scattering and microscopy) and computer simulations. More information about his publications and research activity can be found at University of Crete and FORTH.

Norman J. Wagner is an Alison Professor of the University of Delaware and holds the distinguished Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical Engineering, with affiliated faculty appointments in Physics and Astronomy, Biomechanics and Movement Science, and Biomedical Engineering. He leads an interdisciplinary research team at the University of Delaware. He was President of The Society of Rheology (American Institute of Physics Member Society), is the co-founder and director of the Center for Neutron Science, and served as Chair of the CBE Department from 2007-2012. He was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2016 and the National Academy of Engineering in 2015, and is a fellow of both the AAAS and NSSA. In 2018 he was awarded the Sustained Research Award of the Neutron Scattering Society of America. He leads an active research group with focus on the rheology of complex fluids, neutron scattering, colloid and polymer science, applied statistical mechanics, nanotechnology and particle technology. He is also the PI on a midrange infrastructure project funded by the National Science Foundation to build a world-class neutron spin echo instrument at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. Prof. Wagner co-founded STF Technologies LLC in 2003 to commercialize his inventions for applications in personal protective equipment and astronaut protection for NASA, as well as new scientific instruments. More about Professor Wagner, including his three textbooks, many patents and research publications can be found at University of Delaware.

George Petekidis received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki and a Master’s and PhD degree in polymer physics from the Department of Physics of the University of Crete working on the “Dynamics of Hairy-rod polymers”. He worked at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh with an individual Marie-Curie fellowship with Prof. P.N. Pusey on the “Dynamics of colloidal glasses under shear”. In 2002 he joined FORTH with a return Marie-Curie fellowship and subsequently as an Assistant Researcher. In 2006 he joined the Department of Materials Science and Technology of University of Crete where he is currently a Full Professor. He has served as Head of the Department (2013-2016) and president of the Hellenic Society of Rheology (2014-2017). In 2016 he received the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

His research interests lie in the area of Experimental Soft Condensed Matter. Current work focuses on the dynamics and rheology of metastable colloidal systems such as colloidal glasses and gels, utilizing a combination of experimental tools (rheometry, scattering and microscopy) and computer simulations. More information about his publications and research activity can be found at University of Crete and FORTH.

Norman J. Wagner is an Alison Professor of the University of Delaware and holds the distinguished Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical Engineering, with affiliated faculty appointments in Physics and Astronomy, Biomechanics and Movement Science, and Biomedical Engineering. He leads an interdisciplinary research team at the University of Delaware. He was President of The Society of Rheology (American Institute of Physics Member Society), is the co-founder and director of the Center for Neutron Science, and served as Chair of the CBE Department from 2007-2012. He was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2016 and the National Academy of Engineering in 2015, and is a fellow of both the AAAS and NSSA. In 2018 he was awarded the Sustained Research Award of the Neutron Scattering Society of America. He leads an active research group with focus on the rheology of complex fluids, neutron scattering, colloid and polymer science, applied statistical mechanics, nanotechnology and particle technology. He is also the PI on a midrange infrastructure project funded by the National Science Foundation to build a world-class neutron spin echo instrument at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. Prof. Wagner co-founded STF Technologies LLC in 2003 to commercialize his inventions for applications in personal protective equipment and astronaut protection for NASA, as well as new scientific instruments. More about Professor Wagner, including his three textbooks, many patents and research publications can be found at University of Delaware.

Leanne Friedrich is a Materials Research Engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Before joining NIST for a National Research Council postdoc, she received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in Materials from the University of California Santa Barbara, where she worked on fabrication of tailored polymer matrix composites using direct ink writing with acoustic focusing. Dr. Friedrich’s current research focuses on embedded ink writing of soft materials. Her research aims to identify how rheology, interfacial energy, and processing parameters influence defect formation during 3D printing of filled resins, hydrogels, and colloidal inks into viscoelastic baths.

Jonathan Seppala leads the Polymer Additive Manufacturing and Rheology Project, developing multi-modal and in situ measurements that enable control over the complex non-equilibrium material dynamics that characterize soft matter processing. His current research uses infrared thermography, rheology, polarized light, fracture mechanics, and neutron and x-ray reflectivity and scattering to study the polymer physics of thermoplastic additive manufacturing processes. Jonathan earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University studying the rheology and thermodynamics of polymer nanocomposites. Following his Ph.D., Jonathan worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher studying thin film self-assembly of block copolymers and equilibrium dynamics of amphiphilic micelles at the University of Delaware. Before joining the Additive Manufacturing and Rheology Project, Jonathan studied ballistic witness materials and shear thickening fluids as part of NIST's Personal Body Armor Project.