Dr. Paul D. Frymier

My research is concerned with mass and momentum transport and bacterial adhesion in environmental and biological systems. One aspect of this research involves the measurement of the characteristic properties of microbial interactions with solid surfaces. Microorganisms interact with surfaces in complex and interesting ways. The objective of this research is to identify and quantify the mechanisms involved in the interactions. A natural complement to the experimental work is the parallel development of mathematical models for these processes. We desire the development of accurate and efficient models that will predict remediation rates for a bioremediation application, suggest ways of inhibiting bacterial migration along the surface of a medical implant or bacterial attachment to process equipment and marine surfaces, or suggest ways of enhancing the attachment of cells to solid support surfaces in whole cell bioreactors