Soft Materials

Research in the area of soft materials seeks to understand the guiding principles for structure formation in soft and particulate materials from the nano- to micrometer scale and to elucidate the relationship between microstructure and macroscopic physical properties. This understanding is then used to design materials with tailored properties for novel technology development. Areas of interest encompass self-assembly and phase transformations in polymer and colloidal systems, polymer nanocomposites, electronic polymers, polymer photonics, nanomaterials for energy and biomedical applications as well as cell-nanomaterial interactions. Research is often performed in a collaborative manner and draws upon a diverse range of experimental techniques such as electron and confocal optical microscopy, small- and wide angle X-ray scattering as well as mechanical analysis.

MSE Faculty with focused efforts in Soft Materials research are:

Michael Bockstaller
Mohammad Islam

Additional MSE and Courtesy Faculty involved in Soft Materials research are: