Soft Matter Seminar: Dr. Angus McMullen

Dr. Angus McMullen from New York University, Center for Soft Matter Research

Flexible folding: a bioinspired approach to assembling complex colloidal matter

Research interests: Self-assembly, Model colloidal proteins, Biophysics

Abstract: When building blocks can move and stick to each other, they can self-assemble into new materials with exotic mechanical or optical properties. Colloidal self-assembly is of particular interest because the building blocks are close in diameter to the wavelength of visible light. The self-assembly dynamics can also be observed under an optical microscope. Researchers orchestrate colloidal self-assembly through careful design of an individual building block’s geometry and interactions. The blocks assemble piece-by-piece, like a jigsaw puzzle that assembles itself. We take a different approach: folding a string of colloidal particles into desired geometries, similar to how polypeptides fold into proteins. By imposing a hierarchy of interactions, we find that we can select structures with near-perfect yield even with basic interaction sequences. This work presents an entirely new way to assemble colloidal structures and could be used to self-assemble mechanical or optical metamaterials.

Physics Building Room 202 (in-person only)