April 2 - 6, 2018
Phoenix, Arizona
2018 MRS Spring Meeting

Symposium NM02-Active Colloids with Order

Active colloids are microscopic particles that self-propel through viscous fluids by converting stored energy or energy available in their environment into directed motion. Examples of this behavior abound in the living world, such as swimming bacteria. Over the last decade, many synthetic analogues have also been engineered. Among these are bimetallic nanorods powered by catalytic reaction on one of their two metallic surfaces, Janus particles driven by an externally applied electric field, colloids driven by magnetic fields and by light. Active colloids are very different from their well-studied equilibrium counterparts, as they are maintained out of equilibrium by internally generated propulsive forces. The study of active colloids is drawing a great deal of interests as it provides new insights into fundamental properties of out-of-equilibrium systems and holds a major promise for the development of functional materials. One of the intriguing themes is self-assembly of active particles into various ordered structures, ranging from crystal-like assemblies to chains, vortices and orientationally ordered clusters. The themes of the Active Colloids with Order (ACWO) Conference include fundamentals of active colloidal suspensions, artificial and biological microswimmers, molecular motors, individual and collective behavior of active particles, with an emphasis on various ordered structures formed by active self-assembly.




Topics will include:

  • Active Matter
  • Fundamentals of active colloidal suspensions
  • Swimming mechanisms
  • Swimming in confinement
  • Swimming in external fields
  • Artificial and biological microswimmers
  • Molecular motors
  • Individual and collective behaviour of active particles
  • Ordered structures formed by active self-assembly

Invited Speakers:

  • Igor Aranson (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
  • Anna Balazs (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
  • Denis Bartolo (ENS de Lyon, France)
  • Zvonimir Dogic (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)
  • Alberto Fernandez-Nieves (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
  • Luca Giomi (University of Leiden, Netherlands)
  • Ramin Golestanian (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
  • Roberto Di Leonardo (University of Rome, Italy)
  • Narayanan Menon (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA)
  • Nicholas Ouellette (Stanford University, USA)
  • Sriram Ramaswamy (India Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India)
  • Jennifer Ross (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA)
  • Francesc Sagués (Universitat of Barcelona, USA)
  • Tyler Shendruk (Rockefeller University, USA)
  • Vincenzo Vitelli (University of Leiden, Netherlands)

Symposium Organizers

Liang-Chy Chien
Kent State University
Liquid Crystal Institute
USA

Oleg D. Lavrentovich
Kent State University
Liquid Crystal Institute
USA

Cristina Marchetti
Syracuse University
Physics Department
USA

Julia Yeomans
University of Oxford
Department of Physics
United Kingdom

Topics

biomaterial colloid defects grain boundaries liquid crystal polymer self-assembly simulation texture