A process for making a ferrofluid was invented in 1963 by NASA's Steve Papell to create liquid rocket fuel that could be drawn toward a fuel pump in a weightless environment by applying a magnetic field. The name ferrofluid was introduced, the process improved, more highly magnetic liquids synthesized, additional carrier liquids discovered, and the physical chemistry elucidated by R. E. Rosensweig and colleagues. In addition Rosensweig evolved a new branch of fluid mechanics termed ferrohydrodynamics which sparked further theoretical research on intriguing physical phenomena in ferrofluids. In 2019, researchers at the University of Massachusetts and Beijing University of Chemical Technology succeeded in creating a permanently magnetic ferrofluid which retains its magnetism when the external magnetic field is removed. The researchers also found that the droplet's magnetic properties were preserved even if the shape was physically changed or it was divided.