Welcome to the “Linked Soft Matter Lab”!
I am currently looking to expand the group, and am particularly interested in hiring a graduate research assistant (Fall, 2024). Research topics include theoretical/computational mechanics of fiber assemblies and shape-morphing soft materials.
What is linked soft matter?
- First, “soft matter” refers to materials that are easily deformable: they can dramatically change their shape under modest stress. This stress can come from many sources, both external and internal.
- The “linked” part refers to how soft matter constituents are joined together. Here, the focus is on slender, string-like materials, from polymers to yarn, which can be entangled, cross-linked, or knotted together to form networks.
Linkages can give rise to materials that tend to be remarkably soft, yet robust, from rubber to knitted sweaters. We are interested in how the details of these network structures, such as their linking topology and the mechanics and thermodynamics of the underlying elements, conspire to create a range of macroscopic material properties.
Currently, our central focus involves three areas:
- Self-assembly of supramolecular networks
- Multistable shape-morphing, soft composites
- Fiber networks and textile metamaterials
We employ a variety of theoretical and computational tools to study these soft materials, with an emphasis on approaches involving geometric modeling, statistical mechanics, and nonlinear elasticity.