Research of Edward H. Feng
Sandia National Laboratory, Livermore, California
PhD, Stanford University, 2003
BA, Rice University, 1999
Research Interests
- statistical mechanics far from equilibrium
- vibrations of carbon nanotubes
- applications of statistical physics in data mining, e.g. The Power Rank
- polymer physics, self-assembly
- computer algorithms for stochastic simulations
Select Publications
- Equilibrium Thermal Fluctuations of Carbon Nanotubes. E.H. Feng, R. Jones, Phys. Rev. B, 81, 125436, (2010).
- Far-From-Equilibrium Measurements of Thermodynamic Length. E.H. Feng, G.E. Crooks, Phys. Rev. E, 79, 012104, (2009).
- The length of time's arrow. E.H. Feng, G.E. Crooks, Phys. Rev. Lett., 101, 090602, (2008).
- Supramolecular Diblock Copolymers: A Field-Theoretic Model and Mean-Field Solution. E.H. Feng, W.B. Lee and G.H. Fredrickson. Macromolecules, 40, 693, (2007).
- A Diagrammatic Kinetic Theory for a Lattice Model of a Liquid: I. Theory. E.H. Feng and H.C. Andersen, J. Chem. Phys., 121, 3582, (2004).
If you have a Ph.D. in statistical mechanics, here is a summary of research accomplishments from 2008. Also, back in 2005, I tried to write a jargon free description my thesis work.
Teaching and Outreach
Modern Statistical Mechanics
I'm very interested in using multimedia in explaining science to the general public. As an example, Entropy man is an introduction to the Crooks Fluctuation Theorem and Jarzynski's equality, two foundational results in my field that do not get the attention they deserve. I hope this is accessible to any curious person who has a high school background in physics or chemistry.
Random Processes
These notes are intended for first year graduate students who have a background in stat mech (so ideas like equilibrium distribution and random variable make sense). The notes on Markov jump processes or continuous time Markov processes are the key to understanding the often used and abused continuous time Monte Carlo simulation.
- Markov chains and Monte Carlo algorithms: pdf.
- Markov jump processes: pdf.
- Fast Fourier Transform (nothing to do with random processes): pdf.
Polymer Self-Consistent Field Theory
These are slides from a talk introducing self-consistent field theory calculations for block copolymer self-assembly. These notes cover the basic principles underlying self-consistent field theory calculations for polymer self-assembly.
- Slides from a talk covering the general ideas behind self-consistent field theory: pdf
- Discrete Fourier Transform: pdf.
- Solving Modified Diffusion Equation: pdf.
- Properties of the Single Chain Partition Function: pdf.
- Notes on the freely jointed chain model of polymers (not related to SCFT).pdf
