Dr. Ralph Colby

Biography

Ralph H. Colby is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. He obtained his B.S. in Materials Science Engineering from Cornell University in 1979, followed by his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in 1983 and 1985, respectively. His doctoral research focused on the rheology of linear polybutadiene melts and solutions, which he conducted during 15 months as a visiting scholar at Exxon Research and Engineering Company. He has ten years of experience at Eastman Kodak Company, where he worked on research in rheology, including linear polymer melts and solutions, miscible polymer blends, and liquid crystalline polymers. Colby joined Penn State University as an Associate Professor in 1995 and was promoted to Professor in 2000. He teaches undergraduate courses on Polymer Processing and graduate courses on Polymer Physics. He has published 130 publications and authored a textbook titled "Polymer Physics" in 2003. His research primarily focuses on the dynamics of complex fluids, particularly polymer liquids, and he employs various methods to characterize liquid structure and dynamics. Colby has received several awards for his contributions to the field, including the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medals Outstanding Achievement in 2022 and the Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology in 2012.

Research Interests

Awards