Cristina works on liquid droplet and jet behaviour, airflows and visualization techniques at the small scale with direct application to inkjet and dispensing techniques for new manufacturing concepts such as printed electronics and sensors.

She also studies the technical and organisational practices associated with scaling up emerging technologies with the aim of formulating well defined strategies and frameworks to address the challenges posed in the field.

Research Interests

• Fluid dynamics (jet and droplet flows, multiphase flow, drop deposition, visualisation techniques, Computations Fluid Dynamics, electrical effects on charged fluids, inkjet and dispensing techniques)
• Complex fluid behaviour (rheological characterization)
• Science of scale-up

Background

• BEng (2006) University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• MEng (2008) University of Salamanca
• PhD (2014) University of Salamanca.  Her PhD focused on the control of flow instabilities to produce microparticles from viscoelastic polymers.
• Research Associate in Cambridge at the InkJet Research Centre and then FIAM (from end of 2014): She has worked in projects studying aerodynamic and electrical effects in inkjet applications to improve and understand drop placement. She also studies droplet formation, deposition behaviour and integration of dispensing techniques. She collaborates extensively with companies to address various industrial challenges in the field.
• Research Associate in Cambridge with the Centre for Science, Technology & Innovation Policy (from 2020): She studies the challenges faced in scaling up new emerging technologies.

Main publications and participation in conferences

• Rodriguez-Rivero, M. C., Philpott, J. M., Hann, A. B., Harries, J. L., & Daly, R. Journal of Imaging Science and Technology, 64(5), 50403–50410. 2020.

• Aerodynamics of direct-to-shape printing - 6th Edition of TheIJC, 2019.
• Experimental Set-Up to Investigate Forces and Airflows on Inkjet Droplets. 4th Edition of TheIJC, 2017.
• Aerodynamic effects in industrial inkjet printing. C. Rodriguez-Rivero, J.R. Castrejón-Pita and I. M. Hutchings. Journal of Imaging Science & Technology. 59(4). pp 1-10. 2015. - videos on https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/248294/

• Rayleigh-Plateau instabilities on Drop on Demand Jetting. Oral presentation. 68th Annual Meeting of the APS (American Physical Society) Division of Fluid Dynamics. Boston, USA, 2015.
• Aerodynamic effects in industrial inkjet printing. Oral presentation. 31th Digital Fabrication and Digital Printing by the Society for Imaging Sciences and Technology. Portland, USA, 2015.
• CFD study of capillary jets under superimposed destabilizing conditions for microdroplet formation. C. Rodríguez-Rivero, E.M.M. Del Valle, M.A. Galán. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics Journal. 9(1). 2015.
• Experimental and linear analysis for the instability of non-Newtonian liquid jets issuing from a pressurized vibrating nozzle C. Rodríguez-Rivero, E.M M. Martín del Valle, M. A. Galán. AIChE Journal. 61(6). 2015.
• Rheological characterization of commercial highly viscous alginate solutions in shear and extensional flows. Cristina Rodríguez-Rivero, Loic Hilliou, Eva M. Martín del Valle, Miguel A. Galán. Rheologica Acta, 53 (7), pp 559-570. 2014.
• Dynamics and CFD Modeling of Viscoelastic Polymeric Jets Under Rayleigh Instability As a Result of a Controlled Vibration to Produce Size and Span-Controlled Microdroplets. AIChE Annual Meeting. San Francisco (USA). 2013.

In the media

The benefits of embedding electronics in ceramic tiles | Institute for Manufacturing | IfM Insights (medium.com)

https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/exploring-technologies-for-customisation-at-scale/

https://www.glass-international.com/news/nsg-group-and-university-of-cambridge-sowing-seeds-for-future-glass-applications

https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/business/inside-the-institute-for-manufacturing-at-cambridge-studying-digital-printing-technology-9090878/

Other (current) engagements:

• Member of the Organising committee of Printing For Fabrication (Society for Imaging Sciences and Technology): link
• Research Associate representative in Lucy Cavendish College: link
• Member of the Scientific board of the Engineering Spanish Journal DYNA: link