Ryan McGuan

Ryan McGuan received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of California Santa Barbara in 2011 and proceeded to work in the medical device industry for Medtronic Neurosurgery in the field of shunts and catheters designed to treat hydrocephalus. In 2014 Ryan enlisted in the US Navy where he attended the Navy SEAL Training school before being honorably discharged after sustaining an injury. Following this, he returned to the medical device industry working for Edwards Lifesciences in the field of hemodynamic monitoring.

This helped to rekindle a longtime fascination with the field of fluid mechanics and as such he returned to education, receiving a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in fluid mechanics in 2021. Ryan studied a low melting point liquid metal eutectic and how the unique fluid properties of this alloy affected the fluid dynamics of its behavior, particularly in the fields of impact characteristics and coalescence. The research broadened to include additive manufacturing as well as specific phenomena at the contact line of spreading fluids including contact line arrest due to phase change.

Ryan now intends to use this knowledge of small-scale fluid phenomena and wetting behavior to study the synthesis of radiotracers using techniques developed by his mentors CJ Kim, PhD and R. Michael van Dam, PhD. This research builds upon and expands existing technology known as electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) which is a technology that utilizes an electric field to modulate the surface energy and by extension, the wetting behavior of liquids. The goal of this research is to transition the synthesis of radiotracers to the point-of-care setting.

In his free time Ryan can be found lifting weights, playing with his cats, or enjoying a nice beer on a Sunday afternoon.