Twisted 2017

Image result for twisted conference 2017

10-12 May, 2017, University of Luxembourg

Soft Matter is pleased to support Twisted, a two-day conference on the physics, chemistry and applications of cholesteric lyotropic liquid crystals developing in colloidal suspensions of chiral nanorods.

The motivation for the conference is the rapidly growing interest in liquid crystals formed by nanocrystals of cellulose or chitin, filamentous viruses, carbon nanotubes and similar rod-like nanoparticles in suspensions in water or other isotropic solvents, and topics will be covered in four sessions:

  1. Advanced materials derived from chiral nanorods (keynote speaker: Mark MacLachlan)
  2. Theory and simulations of cholesteric phases (keynote speaker: Mark Wilson)
  3. Chiral nanorod suspensions: from particle tuning to self-assembly (keynote speaker: Derek Gray)
  4. The route to applications (keynote speaker: Silvia Vignolini)

Confirmed invited speakers include:

There are also 12 slots for contributed talks and two poster sessions. See the program for full details.

 

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Congratulations to the Soft Matter award winners at GelSympo2017

The 11th International Gel Symposium was held at Nihon University in Chiba, Japan last week, and Soft Matter would like to congratulate the following, who were awarded prizes for their poster presentations:

 

Ai Saito (Graduate School of Chem. Sci. and Eng., Hokkaido University)
Role of concentration of microtubule and a depletant in the emergence of collective motion of microtubules driven by kinesins

Gantumur Enkhtuul (Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University)
Cytocompatible hydrogelation through enzymatic cross-linking mediated by glucose and cysteine residues in the enzyme

Gargi Joshi (Energy and Environment Area, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Directional control of diffusion and swelling in hydrogels prepared from cyanobacterial exopolysaccharide

Kateryna Khairulina (School of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, The University of Tokyo)
Mobility of low molecular weight compounds in tetra-PEG-graphene oxide hydrogels

Koki Sano (Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo)
Ultralarge mechanical anisotropy of a hydrogel with aligned nanosheets

Michika Onoda (School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo)
Artificial amoeba: Self-oscillating polymeric fluids with autonomous sol-gel transition

Takahiro Matsuda (Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University)
Mechanical stress triggers productive mechanochemical reactions in double network gels

Takuma Kureha (Graduate School of Textile Science & Technology, Shinshu University)
Selective adsorption of halide compounds from aqueous solution by poly(2-methoxyethylacrylate)-based hydrogel microspheres

Yasushi Shojima (Graduate School of Science, Osaka University)
Dissimilar solid materials binding with self-healable supramolecular materials through host-guest interaction

 

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Shape memory polymers get a grip

Controlled curling – a new way to go from flat to 3D

Researchers in the US have developed a new way to curl polymer sheets to create a variety of 3D structures.

Shape memory polymers change shape in response to external stimuli such as light and heat. Chemists add active materials to polymer sheets, which then deform on stimulation. Usually the active materials are placed in regions where curvature is desired, but Michael Dickey, Jan Genzer and their colleagues at North Carolina State University have now shown they can deform regions adjacent to the active materials.

 

Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry



Read the full story by Laura Fisher in Chemistry World.


This article is free to access until 14 April 2017.

A M Hubbard et al, Soft Matter, 2017, DOI: 10.1039/c7sm00088j

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McBain Medal: Assembly and pattern formation in complex soft materials

27 March 2017, SCI Belgrave Sq, London, UK

This one day meeting in London will focus on recent advances in colloid and interfacial science as a route to materials and processes with societal value, with distinguished speakers both from industry and academia. The meeting will close with the McBain Lecture, awarded annually by the RSC/SCI Joint Colloids Group to recognize a rising star in colloid and interface science.

This year’s awardee is Dr João Cabral from Imperial College London, for his outstanding work on the thermodynamics and assembly of colloid and polymer mixtures, and the design of functional materials via interfacial instabilities. An enthusiast of scattering, his team and collaborators have pioneered the use of neutron and X-rays to study flow processing of complex fluids in complex microfluidic flows.

To see the programme and register, click here

Registration from £10, 11am start.

Invited speakers:

  • Dr João Cabral (Imperial College London), McBain Lecture: “Interfacial instabilities in frontal photopolymerisation, microflow and complex fluid processing”
  • Prof Tom McLeish FRS (Durham University): “Molecular viscoelasticity in spaces of different dimensionality”
  • Prof Dame Julia Higgins FRS (Imperial College London): “Soft mixtures, thermodynamics and interfacial structures”
  • Dr Eric Robles (Procter & Gamble): “The Role of Colloid Chemistry in Every Breakthrough Innovation in Industry”
  • Dr Lionel Porcar (Institut Laue Langevin): “Recent advances in flow-SANS for colloidal and interfacial science”
  • Dr Alex Routh (University of Cambridge): “Strength development during consolidation in drying films”
  • Prof Sidney Nagel (University of Chicago): “Pattern formation”
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Outstanding Reviewers for Soft Matter in 2016

Following the success of Peer Review Week in September 2016 (dedicated to reviewer recognition) during which we published a list of our top reviewers, we are delighted to announce that we will continue to recognise the contribution that our reviewers make to the journal by announcing our Outstanding Reviewers each year.

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Soft Matter in 2016, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

Dr Giorgio Cinacchi, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Dr Jens Elgeti, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Dr Wei Hong, Iowa State University
Professor M P Lettinga, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Dr Bo Li, University of Illinois
Dr Kaiqiang Liu, Shaanxi Normal University
Dr Benoit Loppinet, FORTH IESL
Dr Frank Snijkers, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Professor Jan Vermant, ETH Zurich
Dr Yilin Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences

We would also like to thank the Soft Matter board and the journal community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé.  You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre.

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Winners of the Soft Matter award at the Polymer Gel Symposium

16-17th Jan 2017, Tokyo, Japan

The 28th Symposium organized by the Research Group on Polymer Gels, The Society of Polymer Science, Japan was held on 16,17th January 2017, in Tokyo, Japan.


This is the third year in a row that Soft Matter supported this event, which has been continuously very well received.

The winners of the price will receive a free subscription to Soft Matter.


On the image, from the left

  • Prof. Hidemitsu Furukawa (Yamagata University) conference organizer
  • Kenta Honma (The University of Tokyo)
  • Dr. Ryota Tamate (The University of Tokyo)
  • The other winners were awarded other poster/presentation awards
  • Mr Honma’s poster was titled: “Micro Patterning of the Self-Oscillating Polymer Brush for Control of its Spatio-temporal Function

    Dr Tamate’s talk was titled: “Fabrication of self-oscillating colloidosomes undergoing cell-like complex shape oscillations

    Congratulations to all winners!

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    Hokkaido Summer Institute & International Soft Matter Summer School in Hokkaido 2017

    1st Session: Otaki Seminar House, Otaki Village, July 30 (Sun) – Aug 5 (Sat), 2017
    2nd Session Hokkaido University Sapporo Campus, City of Sapporo, Aug 7 (Mon) – Aug 11 (Fri), 2017

    ESAT

    1st Session: July 30 (Sun) – Aug 5 (Sat), 2017 / 2nd Session: Aug 7 (Mon) – Aug 11 (Fri), 2017

    1st Session: Otaki Seminar House, Otaki Village / 2nd Session: Hokkaido University Sapporo Campus, City of Sapporo


    This summer, the Global Station for Soft Matter, GI-CoRE from Hokkaido University will hold a two-week long “Summer School on Soft Matter” for graduate students and early career researchers. This summer school will focus on polymer physics, soft matter mechanics, and chemistry and characterization of materials. The seminar will be divided into two sessions. The first session will be held at Otaki Seminar House in central Hokkaido, located about 20 km from the beautiful Lake Toya. The second session will be held at the Sapporo Campus of Hokkaido University. The seminar will be held by world-leading scientists in the field of soft matter.

    Apply now for this exciting seminar!


    Organisers:

    • Dr. Michael Rubinstein; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and GI-CoRE, Hokkaido University
    • Dr. Costantino Cretonl; ESPCI Paris Tech and GI-CoRE, Hokkaido University
    • Dr. Jian Ping Gong; GI-CoRE, Hokkaido University
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    Cracking theory helps understand paint ageing

    New model could benefit art conservators and geologists

    Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry / Image courtesy of Mauritshuis Museum.

    Understanding how cracking patterns develop in desiccated surfaces like old oil paintings or dried mud is surprisingly difficult. Now a Chilean scientist has established the first mathematical model of cracked surfaces that could help conservators preserve old paintings or give geologists information about the thickness of cracked clay or salt layers, and the stress they’ve been subjected to.

    In oil paintings, the varnish becomes less flexible with age and when the canvas shrinks and expands in response to humidity and temperature changes, the paint starts to crack. As the cracks are hard to forge, art experts often use them, among other factors, to determine a painting’s authenticity. ‘Crack networks are like fingerprints,’ says JC Flores from the University of Tarapacá, who has developed a series of equations that give a theoretical insight into cracking patterns.

    Read the full story by Kat Kramer in Chemistry World.


    This article is free to access until 10 March 2017.

    J C Flores, Soft Matter, 2017, DOI: 10.1039/c6sm02849g

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    How to not make a splash

    Study adds to understanding of droplet behaviour

    New research by a scientist in the US can better explain how a droplet splash is dictated by the smoothness of a surface, as well as the surrounding air pressure.

    Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry


    Scientists already knew that two aspects were involved in this seemingly simple process; one related to the surrounding air, and the other to how the liquid spreads on the substrate. ‘If we were forced to guess, we’d probably assume that decreasing the ambient pressure around the drop would make the splash bigger. After all, we’re decreasing air resistance,’ explains Andrzej Latka, at the University of Chicago, who performed the new research.

    Read the full story and watch the video showing the splash in Chemistry World.



    This article is free to access until 28 February 2017.

    Andrzej Latka, Soft Matter, 2017. DOI: 10.1039/C6SM02321E

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