The development of effective characterization techniques is crucial for fundamental studies and for improving analytic tools. In particular, pore-scale and particle-scale characterization is at the heart of establishing links between microscale structure and bulk properties in granular and porous materials.

The links on the left provide a brief overview of current areas of research. New tools are being developed for quantifying structure, spatial correlation, ordering, and stability, in both real and computer-generated materials. In turn, these tools are used to help understand processes such as flow maldistribution in chemical reactors, gas diffusion in fuel-cell membranes, improved methods for oil recovery, and fluid injection in high-performance materials.