Computational physics is one of most exciting and fast developing areas of modern physics, where theoretical physics meets powerful multiprocessor supercomputers. Our field is nano-structured soft matter and biologically inspired systems. We aim to understand their self-assembly and to aid in the design of smart materials of the future.
There are two major research lines, we are pursuing at the moment, each comprising of many sub-lines:
- Structural and dynamical properties of Soft Matter at the nano-scale
This line is twofold. It is aimed both to reveal underlying physical laws and to develop methods for computer-assisted design of nano-structured materials. These materials formed by such entities as block copolymers, liquid crystals and colloids. Their characteristic feature is that they can self-assemble into various structures (like examples displayed below). This field is very fast growing with applications in what is now called soft nano-technology.
- Dynamical phenomena in biologically inspired systems
This direction is a part of research in computer-aided design of bio-mimicking materials. Vesicles (like ones shown on the right) are an example, which serves as a model system for biological cells and intracellular compartments. They are also considered as most promising micro-containers in drug delivery research.One more example is large colonies of self-propelled particles (known in nature as schools of fish, flocks of birds, etc). This research line is aiming towards smart disperse materials with tailored dynamical properties.
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Centre for Computational Physics 