Structure, Phase Stability, and Dynamics of Magnetically Actuated Colloidal Materials

Abstract: One of the most exciting areas in colloid research is the control of interparticle interactions to generate new structures.  The ease of tuning interactions, size, shape, and composition has made these nano- and micron-sized particles appealing probes for a number of fundamental studies. Recent work has focused on the use of colloidal particles that can act as models for studying the fundamental phenomena of atomic systems. The self-assembly of these “colloidal atoms” has led to investigations of the dynamics of chemical transformations such as nucleation or phase transitions.  I will describe the application of a unique colloidal assembly system, with an isotropic interaction potential, to study material properties, such as phase transitions. Magnetic filaments comprised of magnetic particles linked with DNA offer a method to probe dynamics of semiflexible filaments. Additionally, studies on out of equilibrium phenomena will offer novel dynamic behavior, such as colloidal microscale swimmers.  Our results promise to open up new insights into magnetically actuated 2-D materials.

Bio: Dr. Sibani Lisa Biswal is Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University in Houston, TX and leads the Soft Matter Engineering Laboratory. She has a B.S in chemical engineering from Caltech (1999) and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University (2004).  She is the recipient of an ONR Young Investigator Award (2008), a National Science Foundation CAREER award (2009), Rice U. Graduate Student Association Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award (2012), the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching (2015), the Rice University Chemical Engineering Alumni Professional Progress Award (2017), and the Southwest Texas Section AICHE Best Applied Paper Award (2018).

All seminars are held on Wednesdays from 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. in the Bowen Hall Auditorium Room 222. A light lunch is provided at 11:30 a.m. in the Bowen Hall Atrium immediately prior to the seminar.