To optimize the polymer processing technology, petrochemical industry demands a tool to design the flow properties of polymeric liquids via molecular characteristics that are controllable by the synthesis technology. To predict material properties from molecular characteristics, a straightforward idea is a use of molecular dynamics simulations. However, for rheology of polymers this option is not practical because the characteristic time is far from the traceable range of molecular simulations. To overcome this difficulty, challenges have been made on coarse-grained modeling. The most successful approach is the tube model and its modifications, but the drawback is the oversimplification, due to which accounting the effects of surrounding chains is difficult. To eliminate this problem, multi-chain models have been developed locating between conventional molecular simulations and the tube model. These coarse-grained models enable us to attain efficient and fast simulations of polymer rheology  

Yuichi Masubuchi got his PhD from Nagoya Univ. in 1996 under direction of Prof. Doi on DNA dynamics. After his PhD he worked in Yamagata Univ. as research associate with Prof. Koyama on polymer rheology until 2001. in 1999 he stayed in Univ. Naples and worked with Prof. Marrucci on modelling of rheology. He was promoted to associate professor in Tokyo Univ. Agriculture & Tech. in 2004. In 2007 he moved to Kyoto Univ. to work with Prof. Hiroshi Watanabe on rheology. In 2015 he was promoted to full-professor in Nagoya Univ. and he is running his own group.