David Vernon Boger FRS (born

Kutztown, Pennsylvania Kutztown (Pennsylvania German: ''Kutzeschteddel'') is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located southwest of Allentown and northeast of Reading. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 5,012. Kutztown ...

) is an Australian chemical engineer. In 2017, Boger was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for discoveries and fundamental research on elastic and particulate fluids and their application to waste minimization in the minerals industry.

Life

He graduated from

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...

with a B.S. where he studied with Robert Slonaker, and from

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

with an M.S. and Ph.D. He teaches at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

, the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He is one of three inaugural Laureate Professors at the University of Melbourne.

Work

Boger is known for his studies of

non-Newtonian fluid A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid that does not follow Newton's law of viscosity, i.e., constant viscosity independent of stress. In non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity can change when under force to either more liquid or more solid. Ketchup, for ex ...

s (which behave both as liquids and solids) which have improved the understanding of how this group of fluids flow and led to major financial and environmental benefits. Boger discovered 'perfect' non-Newtonian fluids, which are elastic and have constant viscosity and are now known as Boger fluids, which enabled him to explain how non-Newtonian fluids behave. He was able to apply his ideas to improve the disposal of "red mud", a toxic waste produced during the manufacture of aluminium from bauxite and a major environmental problem. His findings have also led to improved inks for industrial inkjet printers, insecticide chemicals that spread evenly on leaves and reduced drag in oil pipelines. He was elected to the Fellowship of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...

in 1993 and served on the Council of the Australian Academy of Science from 1999 to 2002. He was awarded the Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture in 2000. In 2007 he was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

and of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (fo ...

Honours and awards

*2005 Prime Minister's Prize for Science *2000 Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture by the

*2017 Elected to the US National Academy of Engineering

References

1939 births Living people Australian chemical engineers Fellows of the Royal Society People from Kutztown, Pennsylvania Bucknell University alumni Grainger College of Engineering alumni Monash University faculty University of Melbourne faculty University of Florida faculty Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Chemical engineering academics {{Australia-scientist-stub