Sangjin Ryu

Education

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2009

M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Korea, 1999

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Korea, 1997

Biography

Dr. Ryu joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2025 as a professor. Prior to coming to Bradley University, Dr. Ryu was a faculty in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) from 2011 to 2025. In addition, he was an adjunct professor at Gyeongsang National University in South Korea and a visiting professor at Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan. Before joining UNL, Dr. Ryu was a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University. He has 5.5 years of industry experience as an engineering researcher, including his work at Daewoo Commercial Vehicle and Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in South Korea. Dr. Ryu’s research interests include microfluidics, interfacial fluid dynamics, and comparative biomechanics. He teaches core courses in thermofluids, and his alter ego, Professor Otaku, uses Japanese animation and manga for informal teaching of mechanical engineering.

Teaching

• ME 308: Thermodynamics of Fluid Flow
• ME 501: Advanced Thermodynamics
• ME 521: Intermediate Fluid Mechanics

Scholarship

Website: Sangjin Ryu – Google Scholar

Research Areas:

• Fluid mechanics in biology/engineering at micro/macro scales
• Blood circulation and transport phenomena through insect wing vein network
• Interfacial fluid phenomena of drops confined by solid surfaces
• Microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic tools
• Microfluidic physical reservoir computing

Major External Grants:

• National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) Portable Point-of-Care Testing Device for Pathogen Detection (2023 – 2026)
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Effect of Confinement on Drop Coalescence: Lab Model Study of Oil Drop Coalescence for Enhanced Oil Recovery (2018 – 2022)

Recent Journal Publications:

• Ryu, S., Zhang, H., Palmon, T. Salcedo, M. K., Pass, G. & Socha, J. J. (2025) Insect wing circulation: Transient perfusion through a microfluidic dragonfly forewing model. Lab on a Chip, 25, 3718-3729.
• Emeigh, C., Ramsey, T. & Ryu, S. (2025) Side-view imaging-based analysis of the balloon inflation-deflation dynamics of a microfluidic cell compressor. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 147, 071108.
• Noh, D.-H., Zadeh, A. H., Zhang, H., Wang, F., Ryu, S., Zhang, C. & Kim. S. (2024) Convection-enhanced drug delivery: Experimental and analytical studies of infusion behavior in an in-vitro brain surrogate. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 52, 1693-1705.
• Ryu, S., Zhang, H. & Anuta, U. J. (2023) A review on the coalescence of confined drops with a focus on scaling laws for the growth of the liquid bridge. Micromachines, 14, 2046.
• Emeigh, C., Bak, H., Kizghin, D., Zhang, H. & Ryu, S. (2022) Marinated eggs: An easy quantitative measurement of diffusion. American Journal of Physics, 90, 317-320.
• Ryu, S., Zhang, H. & Emeigh, C. (2022) The dark annulus of a drop in a Hele-Shaw cell is caused by the refraction of light through its meniscus. Micromachines, 13, 1021.
• Zhang, H., Gottberg, J. & Ryu, S. (2021) Contact angle measurement using a Hele-Shaw cell: A proof-of-concept study. Results in Engineering, 11, 100278.
• Ryu, S., Davis, E., Park, J. S., Zhang, H. & Yoo, J. Y. (2021) Wall-shear-stress based conditional sampling analysis of coherent structures in a turbulent boundary layer. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 143, 041301.
• Bohlim, N., Lee, D., Ryu, S. & Wilson, R. (2021) Mimicking the surface mechanical properties of rice (Oryzae sativa) leaf using PDMS soft lithography. JMST Advances, 3, 11-17.
• Butler, T. C., Zhang, J., Zhang, H., Ryu, S. & Greene, A. S. (2020) Magnetic patterning of Vorticella convallaria in a microfluidic device. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 67, 687-690.
• Zhang, H. & Ryu, S. (2020) Drop generation in cross-flow of liquid rotating in rigid body motion. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 142, 104501.

Publications on using Japanese animation:

• Ryu, S. & Obunai, K. (2024) Are Japanese anime robots isometric or allometric? Journal of Geek Studies, 11, 45-54.
• Ryu, S. (2024) Using Japanese animation for fluid mechanics education: Examples from ”One Punch Man”. ASME 2024 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. FEDSM2024-131035.
• Ryu, S. (2023) Fusion of Japanese animation and mechanical engineering education (in Korean), Journal of the KSME (Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers), 63, 32-36.
• Ryu, S., Zhang, H., Peteranetz, M. & Daher, T. (2020) How fast can Evangelion run? Application of aerodynamics and scaling laws to the super robot. Superhero Science + Technology, 2, 5-12.
• Ryu, S., Zhang, H., Peteranetz, M. & Daher, T. (2020) Fluid mechanics education using Japanese anime: Examples from ”Castle in the Sky” by Hayao Miyazaki. The Physics Teachers, 58, 230-233.

Book chapters:

• Bhardwaj, R., Gupta, H., Pandey, G. Ryu, S., Shibata, T., Santra, T. & Nagai, M. (2020) Single cell manipulation. In Handbook of Single Cell Technologies edited by Santra, T. S. & Tseng, F.-G., Springer Singapore.
• Lee, D., Zhang, H. & Ryu, S. (2018) Elastic modulus measurement of hydrogels. In Cellulose-based Superabsorbent Hydrogels edited by Mondal, M. I. H., Springer International Publishing.

Selected Conference Publications:

• Sherpaili, P., Ciesielski, E., Ghonim, A. T. M., Emeigh, C., Fernando, S. C., Shibata, T. & Ryu, S. (2025) Design and fabrication of a LAMP-based microfluidic diagnostic device using a 3D-printed mold. ASME 2025 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. FEDSM2025-158237.
• White, J., Baccouch, M. & Ryu, S. (2025) Simulating the steady hemolymph flow and transient perfusion in the forewing vein network of Drosophila using Open-FOAM. ASME 2025 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. FEDSM2025-158086.
• Janecek, J., Sunderland, C., Wagner, L. S, Wagner, R., Ryu, S., Nagai, M., Choi, Y.-J., Kwon, I.-H., Chowdhury, R. H., Mibu, R. & Ide, T. (2024) US-Japan NSF IRES program for developing portable point-of-care testing devices: Research outcomes of Year 1. 2024 ASEE Midwest Section Conference, Lawrence, KS.
• Ryu, S., Deters, J., Janecek, J., Sunderland, C., Wagner, L. S, & R. Wagner (2024) US-Japan NSF IRES program for developing portable point-of-care testing devices: Preparation and experiences of Year 1. 2024 ASEE Midwest Section Conference, Lawrence, KS.
• Zhang, H. & Ryu, S. (2024) PTV-based measurement of a local flow field in a microfluidic dragonfly forewing model. ASME 2024 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Anaheim, CA. FEDSM2024-130930.
• Pineda, R., Ryu, S., Kim, S. & Zhang, C. (2023) A heterogeneous hydrogel brain phantom for convection-enhanced drug delivery. ASME 2023 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition. New Orleans, LA. IMECE2023-113654
• Emeigh, C., Griswold, A., Pallock, R. H., Sahni, J., Schake, M., Anuta, U., Deters, J., & Ryu, S. (2023) Group-project-based development of a modular microfluidic platform: A case report on a hands-on microfluidics course. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Midwest Section Conference, Lincoln, NE.
• Zhang, H., Emeigh, C., Brooks, S., Wei, T., Ryu, S., Chatzizisis, Y. S. & Liu, X. (2022) Fabrication of a multi-well plate channel device with reversible seals. ASME 2022 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Toronto, Canada: Best paper for Micro- and Nano-Fluid Dynamics Track.
• Emeigh, C., Zhang, H. & Ryu, S. (2022) Fabrication of a microfluidic cell compressor using a 3D-printed mold. ASME 2022 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Toronto, Canada.
• White, J., Hu, Y., Ryu, S., Kim, S. & Zhang, H. (2022) Geometric analysis of insect wing vein network. ASME 2022 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, Toronto, Canada.
• Kizghin, D., Ryu, S., Park, Y. & Jung, S. (2021) Swimming of the trophont zooid of Vorticella convallaria. ASME 2021 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. FEDSM2021-63265
• Kreis, K. F. & Ryu, S. (2021) Automated mini-channel platform for studying plant root environments. ASME 2021 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. FEDSM2021-65493
• Zhang, H, Palmon, T, Kim, S. & Ryu, S. (2020) Fabrication of a microchannel device with a three-dimensional pore network using a sacrificial sugar template. ASME 2020 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. FEDSM2020-20356

Honors and Awards:

• Holling Family Distinguished Teaching/Advising/Mentoring Award (2024) University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Engineering
• Keynote speaker for the 2023 KSME Engineering Education Division Spring Meeting (2023) Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers (KSME)
• Plenary Speaker for the 4th National Conference on STEM education College of Education and Center for Integrated STEM education (2022) University of the Philippines, The Philippines
• JSPS Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan (2021) Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
• Outstanding Faculty Award (2019) UNL Pi Tau Sigma
• UNL College Distinguished Teaching Award (2019) UNL
• Holling Family Master Teacher Award (2019) UNL College of Engineering
• Graduate Study Abroad Scholarship (2004 – 2006) Korea Science and Engineering Foundation

 

Service

Professional Society:

• Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA)
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

STEM Outreach:

• Professor Otaku series: Informal lecture on STEM in Japanese animation (since 2016)