Soft Matter Research

The Solomon group focuses on the fundamental study of colloidal and biopolymer systems, using 3D confocal microscopy, rheology, and light scattering methods. The work impacts fields of consumer products, pharmaceuticals, biomedical devices, and treatments for bacterial infections. Our group’s interests can be largely divided into four main regimes: colloidal gelation and rheology, biomimetic structural color, active colloidal matter, and biomechanics of bacterial and fungal biofilms.

Colloidal Assembly

for structural color

We aim to establish the connection between microscopic assembling behavior and the resulting structure, and the structural color of the colloidal crystals
    Colloidal gel microstructure

    Colloidal Gelation

    and its rheological properties

    We study the microscopic network structure and gelation dynamics and the functional properties of colloidal gel

      Active Matter

      dynamics and effects

       We study the behavior of various shapes of active colloidal particles when embedded in colloidal gel and crystal, and their effects on the functional properties

        Mechanics of Biofilm

        for bacteria and fungi

        We investigate the rheology and microstructure of biofilm to understand its protective role for bacterial and fungal resistance