Insight into even the most complex materials or problems can often come from surprisingly simple experiments
A particular focus of our activities is the measurement of mechanical properties of soft objects such as hydrogels, microgels, or biological cells. We are developing dedicated techniques for studying the viscoelastic response of microscopic soft objects, fluid transport in hydrogels and other porous materials, or swelling-deswelling processes in hydrogel materials.
Another important activity is the study of phoretic forces in colloidal suspensions, including our recent unraveling of the physical origins of so-called exclusion zone (EZ) formation, where colloidal particles in aqueous suspensions are observed to be repelled from certain surfaces over long distances.