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Research Highlight (See all of our publications)
Soft Matter 17 (2021) 7076, by
Helen S. Ansell and Randall D. Kamien
We develop an energetic model that captures the twisting behavior of
spindle-shaped polymer microparticles with nematic ordering, which
display remarkably different twisting behavior to ordinary nematics
confined to spindles. We have previously developed a geometric model of
the twisting, based on experimental observations, in which we showed that
the twist pattern follows loxodrome spirals [Ansell, et
al. ,
Phys. Rev.
Lett., 2019, 123, 157801]. In this study, we first consider a
spindle-shaped surface and show that the loxodrome twisting behavior of
our system can be captured by the Frank free energy of the nematic with
an additional term constraining the length of the integral curves of the
system. We then extend the ideas of this model to the bulk and explore
the parameter space for which the twisted loxodrome solution is
energetically favorable.
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- David King arrives from Cambridge! Welcome! (October 2021)
- Helen Ansell successfully defends her thesis! Congratulations Dr.
Ansell! (April 2021)
- Helen Ansell accepts postdoctoral position at Northwestern
University! (March 2021)
- Nandita Chaturvedi accepts postdoctoral position at the National
Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore! (November 2020)
- Daria Atkinson arrives from UMass Amherst! Welcome! (September
2020)
- Nandita Chaturvedi successfully defends her thesis! Congratulations
Dr. Chaturvedi! (August 2020)
- Lisa Tran wins 2020 Glenn Brown Dissertation Prize of the
International Liquid Crystal Society For her outstanding work on
the geometric confinement introducing complex defect structures and
revealing new insight into liquid crystal self-organization. Her work
exploits an elegant interplay of topological constraints and geometric
frustration to guide the formation of unexpected self-assembled complex
structures. (May 2020)
- Lisa Tran accepts faculty position at Utrecht University. (May
2019)
- Eric Horsley successfully defends thesis! (January 2019)
- Hillel Aharoni accepts faculty position at the Weizmann Institute!
(November 2018)
- Helen Ansell awarded Department of Physics and Astronomy's 2018 Werner B.
Teutsch Prize, Awarded annually to the graduate student who, by his
or her performance in the first year courses, shows the most promise for
outstanding achievement in research. (June 2018)
- Hillel Aharoni wins 2018 Michi Nakata Prize for Early Career
Achievements of the International
Liquid Crystal Society For his impressive evolution of research on
topological and geometric applications in soft matter physics from the
pattern formation in smectic liquid crystals, demonstrating how nature
uses simple geometric principles for achieving complex functionality. His
unusual broad view on the soft matter physics including liquid crystal
physics, based on strong mathematical and geometrical skills, will make
him grow as a prominent scientist. (June 2018)
- Ex-postdoc Tom Machon wins 2018 Glenn Brown Dissertation Prize
of the International Liquid Crystal Society
For his theoretical work on the topology and field states in soft
matters, especially in complex liquid crystalline environments, with the
goal to predict and determine topological properties of the objects such
as field knots and topological defects. Another aspect of his
contribution to soft matter, the stability of minimal surfaces, opens up
a fascinating new field at the intersection of physics and mathematics. (June 2018)
- Ex-student Dan Beller accepts faculty position at UC Merced! (June 2018)
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Last Modified 1 October 2021