Research

We are currently exploring how elastic surfaces can be used to drive self-assembly of colloidal particles. The patterns exhibited by the particle aggregates are intimately connected to the topology of the surface and its mechanical properties, i. e. its elastic response to bending and stretching deformations. We find that by tuning the relative costs of bending and stretching deformations it is possible to continuously morph the form of the aggregates across different patterns.

Finally, we are working on the problem of "reverse self-assembly"; that is, the design of interparticle interaction for the generation of specific self-assembled structures. We use thermodynamics and statistical mechanics to design algorithms towards this goal.
The group uses computer simulations as the main tool of scientific inquiry and welcomes collaborations with experimental groups interested in similar problems.