Albert Co

University of Maine

Chemical Engineer

Fellow, Elected 2024

Dr. Albert Co received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Philippines and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1979 where he worked with R. Byron Bird. He worked at University of Maine in the Chemical Engineering Department, becoming Emeritus in 2023.

His research interests are in the rheological characterization of polymer melts and complex fluids; modeling and numerical simulation of polymeric liquid flows; and analyses of flow instabilities. He has applied these methods to understand and control critical industrial processes such as molten polymer film casting. Over a series of works, he modified the Giesekus fluid model so it can describe regions of stability in film casting, and provide insights into the control of draw resonance.

Dr. Co has provided extraordinary levels of service to societies of rheology worldwide. He built the first Society of Rheology website (using HTLML) in 1995, making the SOR an early adopter of this emerging technology. Over the past 20 years, he has infused this website with increasing levels of multifunctionality, to where it has become the indispensable platform for nearly all SOR activities. Beyond the SOR website, he served as Secretary and member of the Executive Committee for a ten-year period, concomitant with his webmaster duties. He also was local program organizer for the two society meetings in Maine. At the international level, he has provided web services for related organizations including the International Congress on Rheology, the Annual European Rheology Conference, and The International Symposia on Food Rheology and Structure.