Allan D. Mackie
- Professor
- Vice-director ETSEQ
- Avda. Països Catalans, 26. 43007, Tarragona
- Office 319
- +34977559674
- allan.mackie(ELIMINAR)@urv.cat
- Research group web page
- Keywords / Research areas:Molecular Simulation; Statistical Mechanics/Physics; Self-assembly; MIcelles
Bio
Allan Mackie received his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 1989 after which he decided to pursue his PhD studies in Chemical Engineering at Cornell University under the supervision of Dr Panagiotopoulos. The main theme of the thesis, which he completed in 1995, was the study of micelle self-assembly using molecular simulation techniques. In 1996 he completed a postdoctoral stay at the French Petroleum Institute where he studied the phase equilibria of alkanes and their mixtures. In the same year he accepted a position at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, and in 2019 was eventually promoted to Professor.
Research Interests
His research focuses on the development and application of statistical mechanical theory and molecular simulation techniques for the study of the properties of fluids and materials. Molecular and mesoscopic/coarse grain models are employed, where the most important interactions between the constituents of the system of interest are explicitly described. These models are necessary to gain a fundamental understanding of the microscopic basis for the experimentally observed macroscopic behaviour. The main objective is to quantitatively understand the physics and chemistry behind the spontaneous formation of microscopic structures due to physical interactions in order to design and control processes at the nanoscale. Of particular interest is the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules or surfactants into micelles and complex fluids in general. These nano-objects can be used as nanoreactors or transporters of molecules in a large number of applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals, food, and chemical processes in general.