Dr James Bowen MEng, PhD, AMIChemE, AMIoMMM

Facilities Manager for Science City Advanced Materials II Chemical Engineering
Research Fellow

School of Chemical Engineering

Dr James Bowen

Contact details

Telephone +44 (0) 121 414 5080

Email j.bowen.1@bham.ac.uk

University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

About

James is currently a postdoctoral research fellow and also the Facilities Manager for the Science City Advanced Materials II Laboratory in the School of Chemical Engineering.

James' research interests lie in the areas of micro/nano-technologies and the application of multiscale metrological techniques to the characterisation of complex and novel materials, including their tribological, rheological and mechanical behaviour. He has a particular interest in atomic force microscopy, interferometry, ellipsometry, as well as Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Chemistry, University of Birmingham, 2006
  • MEng(Hons) in Chemical Enginrering, University of Birmingham, 2001

Biography

James Bowen obtained his MEng (Hons) Degree in Chemical Engineering in 2001. As a postgraduate in the School of Chemistry, he studied the nanoscale adhesion of chemically modified surfaces, employing self-assembled monolayers and atomic force microscopy, supervised by Professor Jon Preece and Professor Kevin Kendall, obtaining his PhD in 2006. James then worked for Professor Mike Adams, studying the adhesion of thin films of Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids.

In 2009 James became Facilities Manager for the Science City Advanced Materials II laboratory in the School of Chemical Engineering. He is responsible for the operation and maintenance of a custom-built facility which houses a wide range of measurement equipment suitable for the characterisation of surfaces and bulk materials. The facility serves local companies and assists in the establishment of cost-effective scientific solutions to their business problems. The facility is also accessible to academic researchers both within the University and across the UK.

Teaching

Lecturing responsibilities

  • “Intermolecular and Interparticle Forces”, “Colloid Stability”, and “Solid/Liquid/Gas Interfaces” components of the module “Multiphase Systems”.
  • “Rheometry” and “Rheology of Ultrathin Liquid Films” components of the module “Colloids and Rheology”.
  • “Density and Porosity”, “Indentation”, and “Atomic Force Microscopy” components of the module “Measurement Techniques”.

Research

Research Themes

  • Adhesion, contact mechanics and tribology
  • Materials characterisation
  • Microscopy and spectroscopy
  • Surface and interface analysis
  • Thin film systems

Other activities

ResearcherID profile: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-9874-2011

Academia.edu profile: http://bham.academia.edu/JamesBowen

Publications

Bowen, J., Cheneler, D., Andrews, J.W., Avery, A.R., Zhang, Z., Ward, M.C.L., Adams, M.J., (2011), Application of colloid probe AFM to the adhesion of thin films of viscous and viscoelastic silicone fluids, Langmuir, accepted.

Cheneler, D., Bowen, J., Leigh, S.J., Purssell, C.P., Billson, D.R., Hutchins, D.A., Ward, M.C.L., (2011), Fabrication and analysis of cylindrical resin AFM microcantilevers, Ultramicroscopy, 111, 1214-1223.

Tsoligkas, A.N., Winn, M., Bowen, J., Overton, T.W., Simmons, M.J.H., Goss, R.J.M., (2011), Engineering Biofilms for Biocatalysis, ChemBioChem, 12, 1391-1395.

Leigh, S.J., Purssell, C.P., Bowen, J., Hutchins, D.A., Covington, J.A., Billson, D.R., (2011), A miniature flow sensor fabricated by micro-stereolithography employing a magnetite/acrylic nanocomposite resin, Sens. Actuat. A, 168, 66-71.

Mehrban, N., Paxton, J.Z., Bowen, J., Bolarinwa, A.O., Vorndran, E., Gbureck, U., Grover, L.M., (2011), Comparing the physicochemical properties of printed and hand-cast biocements designed for ligament replacement, Adv. Appl. Ceram., 110, 162-167.

Cheneler, D., Bowen, J., Adams, M.J., Ward, M.C.L., (2011), Principles of a micro squeeze flow rheometer for the analysis of extremely small volumes of liquid, J. Micromech. Microeng., 21, 045030.

Cheneler, D., Bowen, J., Evans, S.D., Górzny, M., Adams, M.J., Ward, M.C.L., (2011), Characteristics and durability of fluoropolymer thin films, Polym. Degrad. Stabil., 96, 561-565.

Bowen, J., Cheneler, D., Walliman, D., Arkless, S.G., Zhang, Z., Ward, M.C.L., Adams, M.J., (2010), On the calibration of rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers modified by particle attachment and lamination, Meas. Sci. Technol., 21, 115106.

Schilp, S., Rosenhahn, A., Pettitt, M.E., Bowen, J., Callow, M.E., Callow, J.A., Grunze, M., (2009), Physicochemical properties of (ethylene glycol)-containing self-assembled monolayers relevant for protein and algal cell resistance, Langmuir, 25, 10077-10082.

Bowen, J., Manickam, M., Evans, S.D., Critchley, K., Kendall, K., Preece, J.A., (2008), The effect of electrolyte pH on the adhesion of nanoparticles to self-assembled monolayers on gold, Thin Solid Films, 516, 2987-2999.

Iqbal, P., Critchley, K., Bowen, J., Attwood, D., Tunnicliffe, D., Evans, S.D., Preece, J.A., (2007), Fabrication of a nanoparticle gradient substrate by thermochemical manipulation of an ester functionalized SAM, J. Mater. Chem., 17, 5097-5110.

Bowen, J., Pettitt, M.E., Kendall, K., Leggett, G.J., Preece, J.A., Callow, M.E., Callow, J.A., (2007), The influence of surface lubricity on the adhesion of Navicula perminuta and Ulva linza to alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers, J. R. Soc. Interface, 4, 473-477

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