Research

I. Mechanics of Soft Materials

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Soft materials show appealing mechanical properties due to the capability of enduring large strains. We are particularly interested in their interfacial mechanics, including the elastocapillary effect, surface relaxations, and etc.  The heart of our experiments rely on  the development of various innovative optical techniques to image surface deformations of soft materials.


II. Dynamics of Complex Fluids

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Different from simple Newtonian fluids, complex fluids show non-linear relations between shear stress and shear rate. Common complex fluids include dense suspensions, polymeric solutions, oxidized liquid metals, and etc.  In spite of their broad industrial applications, the fundamental dynamics of such fluids remains complicated. Our group is particularly interested in studying their dynamics in various contexts.