(7jt) Self-Assembly, Elasticity, and Rheology of Soft Materials

I am interested in soft materials quite generally, but am particularly interested in colloidal self-assembly and in the elasticity and rheology of amorphous solids. During my Ph.D. studies in Prof. David Weitz’s lab at Harvard University I focused primarily on understanding the elasticity and the liquid-to-solid transition of amorphous materials. There I discovered that the liquid and solid regimes of a quiescent, compressed emulsion are separated by a thermally induced “unjamming” instability of the solid: the solid falls apart when the thermal agitation of the droplets that compose it are strong enough to locally and continually yield it. Understanding and controlling the elasticity and flow behavior of soft materials is a long-standing fundamental problem with a myriad practical applications, and I am excited to resume and expand upon the investigations I began in this area.

Most recently, as a postdoctoral associate in Prof. Paul Chaikin’s lab at New York University, I have focused on the self-assembly and frustrated crystallization of particles adsorbed
on curved and topologically non-trivial surfaces. I have also begun work on a new technique for colloidal self-assembly that relies on in situ capacitive deionization of colloidal suspensions, which I expect will become a major focus of my upcoming research. The process uses supercapacitive electrodes immersed in the colloidal fluid to modulate the ionic strength of the solution. Thoroughly deionizing a colloidal suspension can dramatically affect its optical properties, and precisely modulating the salinity of a suspension of oppositely charged particles can induce ordering and crystallization. We recently submitted a grant proposal to extend this technique to produce switchable optical materials and control the phase behavior of colloids over large areas.

Teaching Interests:

No engineer, no matter how brilliant, is an island, and a person’s ability to work well as part of a team is often a crucial part of a successful career. As a TA for graduate and undergraduate classes, as well as a student myself, I have found that encouraging students to work in groups helps the class cover more advanced material and helps students sharpen the basic social skills required to work well with others. I look forward to working with students to incorporate more collaborative and peer learning approaches to the classroom, and to help them become successful scientists and engineers.