Nalini Easwar

Nalini Easwar’s research is in the field of complex fluids, specifically in the study of dry dense granular flows. In her lab, described by her students as an interesting beach, students work on exploring flows of grains from 2D and 3D hoppers, studying aspects of stress propagation, velocity—force correlations, shear zones and jamming. Techniques involve video imaging of the flows to map the velocity field coupled with measurements of flow rates and stress at the boundary of the flows. She collaborates with the granular physicists at the University of Massachusetts. Currently, the experiments focus on the effect of wall friction on 2D and 3D hopper flows.

After completing her master’s in nuclear physics from the University of Bombay, India, Easwar taught for several years at the undergraduate level in India. She did her doctoral work at the University of Pittsburgh and post-doctoral work at the University of Massachusetts. She joined Smith College in 1987. Over three decades at Smith College, she has continued to combine her interests in teaching and research. Her pride and joy have been the mentoring of women physicists in the classroom and in research and the consistent effort in introducing innovative pedagogical methods in the teaching of physics. She leads the outreach activities of the college aimed at attracting and recruiting students to physics.

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