Department Head
bio
Vivek Sharma is a professor and interim head of chemical engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). His Soft Matter ODES-lab (optics, dynamics, elasticity, and self-assembly) develops distinctive experiments and theories to analyze interfacial and nonlinear flows, colloidal forces, optics, shear and extensional rheology, and processability of industrial and biological soft matter. His research program exploits and advances surfactant, protein, & polymer physics, rheology & mechanics, scaling, and fizzics (the science of drops, bubbles, jets, foams, and emulsions), with applications in macromolecular engineering of formulations, including paints & coatings, fibers, cosmetics, sprays, and plant-based foods. Vivek Sharma writes poems and essays in English and Hindi that appear in journals like Poetry, Atlanta Review, Cha, and Muse India.
Vivek joined UIC in November 2012, following a postdoctoral stint in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He earned his Ph.D. (Polymers/MSE, 2008) and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Georgia Tech, his M.S. (Polymer Science) from the University of Akron, and his B.Tech. (Textile) from IIT Delhi. He has served as a visiting professor at ESPCI Paris, the University of Chicago, and Stanford University. At UIC, Vivek has received the College of Engineering (COE) Teaching Award (2017, 2023 & 2025) and the COE Advising Award (2022). Vivek was selected as the Distinguished Young Rheologist by TA Instruments in 2015, won the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award in 2019, and received the 2023 John H. Dillon Medal from the American Physical Society.