- I collect and play strategy games.
- I'm a science fiction fan. My complete novel This Shining Sea has been published electronically by Third Millennium
- This is a paper of mine on viscoelasticity of star polymers. It is provided as an example of a LaTeX document, to help students learn LaTeX. If you download it as a file, the paragraph spacings and blank lines will make it readable.
- This is my analysis of the Parrish Strategic Plan.
Autobiographical sketch
George Phillies was born July 23, 1947 in Buffalo, New York, first son of Eustace G. Phillies, M.D.(deceased) and Clara Phillies. Phillies grew up in Kenmore and Williamsville, New York, finished as salutatorian at the Williamsville Central High School [now Williamsville North], and went to M.I.T. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While at MIT, Phillies earned degrees of Bachelor of Science in physics and in life sciences, as well as Master of Science and (in 1973) Doctor of Science degrees in physics. Phillies then joined the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program as a researcher.
In 1975, Phillies moved to California, working as a postdoctoral fellow in the U.C.L.A. Chemistry department and living in Santa Monica. Phillies in 1978 moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was employed as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan. In 1985, after declining alternatives at nationally-known schools, Phillies moved to the prestigious Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he rose to the rank of Professor of Physics and Associated Biochemistry Faculty. Phillies has attained international recognition for his scientific studies of light scattering, soaps, and polymer solutions. [Phillies: ``A polymer is a long thin molecule, shaped like a strand of spaghetti. A polymer solution pours very slowly. An engineer uses the pouring to design machines. A physicist asks `Why do molecules shaped like spaghetti strands pour slowly?']
Phillies' primary service efforts are on the WPI campus, where he teaches, does research, and serves as Faculty Advisor to the Science Fiction Society and the Women's Lacrosse Club. Almost all first-rate universities are run by elected faculty committees, and WPI is no exception. Phillies has repeatedly been elected to the most important WPI committees. Some years ago, at a meeting of the WPI Faculty, WPI Provost Diran Apelian opened his remarks `George, you are the conscience of the WPI Faculty.'
Phillies, 57, has never married, and rents a townhouse in Worcester, Massachusetts, a block from The WPI Campus. His hobbies include science fiction. For several years he edited a small-press fiction magazine for the Greater Medford Science Fiction Society. As a nonprofessional fiction writer, several of his short stories have won awards at national conventions. His completed novel `This Shining Sea' has been published electronically by Third Millennium and is now in search of a paper publisher. Phillies collects strategy games and is Treasurer of the International Strategy Gaming Society.
In 1971, Phillies joined the United States Army Reserves, eventually rising to the rank of Specialist, 5th Class, in a Boston unit, the 338th Medical Detachment; he received an honorable discharge in 1977.
Previous political activities: Phillies was a Republican until the late 1980s. He left the Republican party because of the national Republican Party's actions on the deficit (it got bigger), government (it got bigger), taxes (they kept going up), and social issues ('I am not a social conservative. When George Bush attached himself to the 'Christian Right', he took the Republican Party his way and I went my way.')
In 1994, the Libertarian Party gained major-party status in Massachusetts. Phillies has since participated actively in Libertarian Party organizing efforts in Central and Western Massachusetts. In 1996, he was elected Executive Director of the Massachusetts Libertarian Association, and was the party nominee for United States Senator from Massachusetts. In 1998, he ran for Congress as a Libertarian against Democratic Party incumbent Jim McGovern and Republican Matt Amorello. One of his three-way debates was later carried coast to coast on CSPAN-II, 7PM EST, the Thursday before the election. In 2004, Phillies was elected as one of the two Regular members of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts State Committee.
Phillies' immediate relatives live in the Buffalo area, including his mother Clara, younger brother Gregory Paul Phillies, and nephew Paul Gregory Phillies. Phillies' brother is a radiologist.
Teaching
I spend almost all of my time teaching freshman physics, e.g. PH1111 or PH 1120. Each of my courses has a newsgroup, wpi.ph.phxxxx, where xxxx is the course number. For current data, see the appropriate newsgroup. I sometimes run homework solutions via the web. A major part of my teaching involves having students work for me each Summer. If you look at my research publications, you'll see lots of co-authors, most of whom are undergraduates who worked for me. In the forseeable future, openings of this sort will be limited to students interested in theoretical calculations or computer simulations.
Research Interests
My primary research efforts are in the area of complex fluids. We have projects dealing with polymer solutions, surfactants, and wavelets.
Complex fluids are liquids that have interesting structure on several different time or distance scales at the same time. This causes them to have high viscosity, odd flow properties, nonexponential relaxations, and so forth. There are many types of complex fluids; my research focuses on polymers and surfactants.
A major emphasis of my historical experimental studies was the use of quasi-elastic light scattering (QELSS). See my research publications in Analytical Chemistry and in P.J. Elving's book for a description of this method. In many of our measurements, we took a polymer or surfactant solution, and added to it polystyrene latex spheres. The spheres scattered much more light than the sphere-free solutions do, so we could use QELSS to measure the diffusion of spheres through the solutions. The technique, which was pioneered in my laboratory, is known as optical probe diffusion.
Polymer solutions
We ask how polymers move in solution. We have studied the diffusion of probe particles through a wide variety of solutions. We have reanalyzed large parts of the literature on polymer self-diffusion, viscosity, and viscoelasticity. We have done a series of analytic-algebraic calculations. (I've also done simulations, but they are not published yet.)
Before our work, a large part of the community believed that polymer motion was described by the deGennes-Edwards-Doi (see my research publications for full references) reptation/scaling/model. The deGennes-Edwards-Doi models treat semidilute solution, which are solutions concentrated enough that the mean distance between neighboring chains is smaller than the radius of the chains. In semidilute solution, polymer chains interpenetrate and are said to be entangle with their neighbors.
The reptation half of the reptation/scaling model is a guess about
chain
motion. The entanglements between chains are said to constrain the
Brownian
(random thermal) motion of polymer chains, so that chains primarily
move
parallel to their own contours. This motion of a chain parallel to its
own length is reptation. The other half of the reptation/scaling model
is scaling, a mathematical assumption having nothing to do with
reptation.
The scaling assumption is that measurable transport properties depend
on
system variables via power laws, so that, e.g., in semidilute solution
the self diffusion coefficient 
of
a chain depends on chain length M and chain concentration c
via
In 1986, I proposed a universal scaling equation for polymer
self-diffusion,
under which instead
follows a stretched exponential dependence on c and M,
namely
I (and, later, students) tested my universal scaling equation against a wide range of literature results, not only on self-diffusion but also on viscosity, rotational diffusion, and polymer sedimentation. My equation works well in dilute and semidilute polymer solutions in essentially all systems tested, at least until very large chain concentration and molecular weight are attained. An important consequence of my model, and the surrounding work, is that the reptation model is incorrect in polymer solutions, in the sense that reptation is probably not important in semidilute polymer solutions (melts are a different case). I first gave a talk on this topic at the MRS conference in Boston in December 1986. The European in the audience (not deGennes, who politely asked for copies of my papers) greeted the talk with loud guffaws; the one-sentence-per-talk summary of the conference papers, as published in one journal, covered every paper except mine.
Since then, there has been a complete inversion in opinion. At one recent conference I attended, in which the speaker blandly applied scaling analysis, the questioners noted that reptation/scaling simply does not work in most polymer solutions, and asked the speaker why his solutions should be any different. The speaker had no answer.
Current research projects include more detailed examinations of probe diffusion in polymer solution, and theoretical efforts to improve the derivation of the stretched-exponential form for D. We have completed a systematic study of how probe particles move through dilute and non-dilute solutions of hydroxypropylcellulose and polyethylene oxide. Of particular interest was the detailed form of the QELSS lineshape, which reveals how particles move as a function of time through solutions. Our project is complete, in that we have examined probe particles in several high-molecular- weight hydroxypropylcelluloses in the more dilute solutionlike regime and the same particles in the less dilute meltlike regime.
An important part of our work has been giving a complete theoretical derivation of the stretched exponential. I can now do most of the derivation, at the level where I can calculate a quantitatively without using any free parameters. By using a low-order series, I am within a factor of two or so in the final answer. In competing theories, scaling prefactors like a are treated as being totally incalculable, and often are not even written down explicitly.
In summary: Once upon a time, there was a received model as to how polymers move in non-dilute solutions. I was the first to say that the received model was fundamentally wrong. My point of view is now widely but not universally accepted.
Current research efforts in my research group here at WPI focus on my model, the 'hydrodynamic scaling model'. We are attempting to improve it, either to refute it or to convince the remainder of the community that it is the right answer (so far as I am concerned, these two possible outcomes are equally desirable.)
Experimentally, we are trying to gain a more detailed
understanding
of polymer diffusion and other transport properties in solution.
Theoretically,
we already have a fundamental form for the concentration dependence of ,
but our derivation is incomplete. We are trying to eliminate the
incompletenesses,
because a complete theory of polymer dynamics would let us treat
experimental
problems involving mixtures, spheres diffusing through solutions, and
viscoelasticity.
Surfactants
Surfactants self-assemble in solution to form micelles - spherical collections of surfactant molecules with hydrophilic exteriors and hydrophobic interiors. Micelles have long been studied by light scattering spectroscopy (see references in my research publications), which measures directly only the apparent hydrodynamic radius of a typical micelle.
We introduced optical probe diffusion into QELSS studies of
micelle
solutions. We measured D of the micelles, and D of
probes
diffusing through the micelles, both as functions of surfactant
concentration.
We then used a correct treatment of hydrodynamics, as applied to the
diffusion
of interacting particles, to interpret our measurements of both
diffusion
coefficients and their leading linear concentration dependences. From
this,
we obtained the micelle aggregation number N (the number of
surfactant
molecules in a micelle) and the degree of hydration 
(the
amount of water in a micelle). In some cases, our results indicate that
micelles are surrounded by a small number of protrusions (perhaps like
the spines on a sea urchin, though we cannot describe their precise
form)
that prevent micelles from approaching each other closely.
Our most successful results dealt with properties of nonionic surfactants (Triton X-100 and Brij-35) at different temperatures and salt concentrations; see my research publications for these results. A surprising result is that micelles of nonionic surfactants are sensitive to the salt concentration of the surrounding material, perhaps because of ion-dipole or salting-out effects.
We have also applied the method to solutions of ionic surfactants
(SDS,
CTAB), where we learn the micelle charge in addition to N and .
A complication in the data analysis was that one needs a good form for
the intermicellar potential energy. The usual Debye-Huckel potential
form
refers to a charged dielectric sphere and a point ion; it is not
adequate
at modest distances to describe the potential energy of two charged
dielectric
spheres, because surface charge effects and excluded-volume terms are
not
handled correctly in the Debye-Huckel treatment. A paper (see work by
Sushkin
and I in my research publications) on this
problem extends earlier work
by M. E. Fisher on this question.
We had hoped to apply our methods to more complex surfactant assemblies. However, our probes much preferred to be confronted with neutral surfactants, which most recipes for making thready micelles, vesicles, etc. rely on the use of ionic micelles; we have left probe studies of more complex surfactant systems to future generations of researchers.
Wavelets
A wavelet transform is like a Fourier transform, but using a different set of basis functions (sin or cosine waves in Fourier transforms, wavelets in wavelet transforms.) Wavelets are localized basis states, giving, e.g., the intensity at a series of frequencies in a series of regions of time. Musical notation decomposes a tune in a wavelet-like sense; notes are localized both in frequency space and also by their location in time.
We have a project to apply wavelet transforms in statistical mechanics. There are two exemplary papers, applying wavelets to the Ising model, my Jon Stott and I; see my research papers. Applying wavelet transforms to descriptions of regular liquids or glasses appears to be more challenging. More recently, Paul Whitford and I applied wavelet decompositions to spherical harmonic densities of particles in cold two-component Lennard-Jones fluids.
Types of complex fluids
There are many types of complex fluid. An incomplete list includes:
Polymer solutions: A polymer is a long stringy molecule. Even at low concentrations, polymers increase the viscosity of their solutions. However, if you increase the polymer concentration a lot, so that the solution resembles a very thick spaghetti soup, polymer solutions become extremely viscosity. Their flow behavior then depends on how fast you try to move them. Silly putty is a good example of a polymer (albeit not in solution) that shows complex viscoelastic behavior.
There are several ways to divide polymers into classes. An old fashioned division is between synthetic polymers (e.g., nylon) and biological polymers (e.g., proteins, DNA). Under modern conditions, we can make an arbitrary protein or DNA in the lab, so this distinction between artificial and non- artificial no longer identifies the polymers available by artifice. Another distinction is between organophilic polymers, which dissolve in organic solvents like toluene, and hydrophilic polymers, which dissolve in polar solvents like water. Charged (ionic) polymers necessarily are hydrophilic, but neutral (nonionic) polymers include both organophilic polymers (e.g., polystyrene) and hydrophilic polymers (e.g., hydroxypropylcellulose).
Surfactants: Soaps are surfactants. These are small molecules with two ends of differing chemical nature. In a common material, one end is hydrophilic and dissolves in water readily, while the other end is hydrophobic and would prefer not to dissolve in water. At low concentrations, surfactants dissolve in water as isolated molecules or small clusters. At higher concentration, surfactants spontaneously self-assemble into larger ordered structures, such as minimum micelles, thready (wormlike) micelles, lamellar phases, and vesicles. Some surfactant molecules (ionic surfactants) carry an electrical charge; other surfactant molecules (nonionic surfactants) are electrically neutral.
Colloids and proteins: are globular bodies of typical size 1nm- 1 
m
in size. Proteins are polymerized amino acids. Colloids are small
bodies
that remain stable in solution, even though they are much larger than
the
solvent molecules or conventional solutes. Faraday studied small
colloidal
particles made of gold; a sample of his colloidal gold, sealed in glass
but over 150 years old, is on exhibit in England. Many proteins are
water
soluble; while in solution, they are subject to the same physical
principles
as are other colloidal particles.
Liquid crystals are liquids - pure liquids or molecules in solution - which under the right conditions undergo a phase transition. They remain a liquid, but the molecules in the liquid become lined up parallel to each other, so that there is long range orientational order, but not the long range positional order seen in a crystal. My laboratory has worked with hydroxypropylcellulose, a polymer that does become a liquid crystal at high concentration, but we have never done experiments on the liquid crystalline phase.
Quasi-elastic Light Scattering Spectroscopy
To oversimplify, in a light scattering spectroscopy experiment on illuminates an equilibrium solution with a monochromatic laser beam. Light is scattered by the polymers, colloids, ... in solution. The scatterers are moving, so the scattered light is doppler shifter, and emerges from the sample with a range of frequencies. By measuring the range of scattered frequencies, one can infer how long it takes the scatterers in solution to diffuse through a light wavelength's distance. From this time, and the wavelength of light (and some details omitted here) one can compute the diffusion coefficient of the moving particles.
Statistical Mechanics
"Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics" has been published by Springer-Verlag. These are drafts of a few of the 30 chapters and 7 Asides.
- Preface
- Chapter 1 is the introduction.
- Chapter 3 gives the basic principles of statistical mechanics.
- Chapter 6 calculates the pressure of a gas using equilibrium statistical mechanics, as opposed to thermodynamics or kinetic theory. You can't read this anywhere else.
- Chapter 11 connects statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics. Almost all other books lose the important half of this argument.
Politics
Yes, I'm that George Phillies. There are some tax issues concerned with my posting to this platform, but for more information on my political positions, look at the Central Massachusetts Liberty Coalition Homepage at http://www.cmlc.org.
The other George Phillies's were my late grandfather George E. Phillies (Attorney) and my late father, Eustace G. Phillies.
Grandfather was substantially responsible, via the Justice for Greece Committee, for extending the Marshall Plan to Greece. In the 1920's, Grandfather (I'd be really grateful if someone could provide the cite, and full details; I have only my father's version) broke the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, at least for New York State. The Doctrine provided that you could not sue the government for damages. The case involved a traffic light which went green in two directions at once. Two perpendicular directions. Until Grandfather won his case, at least in New York, if you were injured by the government, you had very limited redress. Thanks to many people, that's been changed for the better. If you now read about someone who has sued the government successfully (for example, my friend Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games, who sued when the Secret Service wrecked his company's computers during their failed effort to suppress publication of a game about computers), consider that my grandfather made a small effort to help this person.
My father was a physician, specializing in internal medicine and hematology. He practiced in Buffalo and regularly made at least a few house calls as long as he was physically able to do so. Father made substantial contributions to society of other positive sorts, for example to organizations for hemophilia sufferers, but he never wanted them discussed in public.
Strategy Games
Strategic Games are games with complex rules, arranged so that players see how the real world responds to their decisions. These include games about railroads, businesses, and historical battles. Some of these are played on mapboards using cardboard counters (that's my interest). You can replace the cardboard counters with toy soldiers, usually made of lead, pewter, or another material. (Steven Forbes, Sr., had a famous collection of these.) Some people play games on computers (ranging from arcade games requiring manual dexterity to complex tactics games.) Rolegames are games in which you play a character in a fictional world, a world where magic works or people can fly. (Once upon a time, a correspondent of mine, Gary Gygax, and his friend Dave Arneson wrote the first modern set of these - Dungeons and Dragons. Their rules were originally written as an add-on to rules for fighting battles with toy soldiers.)
I'm mostly a game collector. It's not an expensive hobby; there aren't enough collectors to send prices skywards. I do have one of the more extensive collections of board strategy games in the world and, by a fair margin, the world's largest collection of magazines about strategy games.
Science Fiction
I'm faculty advisor of the WPI Science Fiction Society. They meet every week during the school year, have a real library, and run live-action roleplaying games and trips to local events.
Novel
Warning: the Laws of physics do not apply in science fiction novels. For discussions of real physics, see research interests, research publications, or statistical mechanics.
Once upon a time, five intrepid adventurers set out from Arlington, Massachusetts, crossing the universe to save the world. They came back a day later. When they got back, they found a different earth. Instead of landing on their earth, they landed on our earth. Based on their knowledge of the laws of science, they came to the obvious (to them) conclusion, namely that someone had gone back in time and changed history, eliminating their world and creating ours. Naturally, they want to correct this. They expect us to help them, and try not to distress us by emphasizing that if they succeed, we will all cease to exist.
Of course, there are a few minor complications. They are from a world where people fly, throw lightning bolts from their fingers, and do other things not consistent with (real world) laws of nature. Their ideas about law enforcement are seriously different from ours - "Vigilantism, a moral duty, not an option". The detail that their America uses the drug laws that the USA had before 1910 (that's none at all) doesn't keep them from starting to enforce ours, with interesting consequences given that their world has judicial telepathy, not the Fifth Amendment. They also range in age from 11 to 12, and are only modestly inhibited by adult ideas about restraint and moral ambiguity.
The text focuses on their personal conflicts. Their world has much deeper male-female conflicts than ours does ("Boys - they're all dumb as posts". (That was Aurora, the mentalist.)) One of them isn't really trusted by the other four because she (Eclipse) is wanted by the League of nations as a war criminal ("Don't worry. They'll give her a fair trial and a slow execution." (That was Star, the one-person tank company.)
In any event, here are the first few chapters, available for comment. You can also get the full book .