Prof. Kenneth S. Schweizer Lectured a Three-Day Short Course on Modern Approaches to the Physical Chemistry of Soft Matter

At the invitation of AISMST, Prof. Ken Schweizer from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) visited us and lectured a three-day short course on modern approaches to the physical chemistry of soft matter from November 7 to November 9, 2018. The course went very successfully and motivated a warm and deep discussion on many frontier soft matter problems between scholars attending the course.

Prof. Ken Schweizer from UIUC

In the course, Ken Schweizer presented pedagogical introduction and research seminar revolving around three topics, “Glassy Dynamics and Kinetic Arrest in Soft Matter and Materials Science”, “Dynamics and Viscoelasticity of Entangled Synthetic and Biological Polymer Liquids” and “Structure, Phase Behavior and Dynamics in Polymer Nanocomposites”. In Topic 1, liquid-state-theory based approaches for glassy dynamics in diverse soft matter materials including organic molecules, polymers and colloids were presented, and the novel phenomena observed in glassy polymer thin films were discussed; In Topic 2, dynamics, viscoelastic response and diffusive characteristics in entangled polymer melts were introduced from theoretical perspective; In Topic 3, key morphological features and dynamic phenomena in polymer-nanoparticle composites were introduced, and latest theoretical, simulation and experimental research works were discussed.

Audience attending the course

Ken Schweizer is a world-renowned soft matter and polymer theorist. He is the G. Ronald and Margaret H. Morris Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Chemistry and of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and member of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at UIUC. His research interests are centered on developing, and applying to experiment, predictive microscopic statistical mechanical theories of the structure, thermodynamics, phase behavior, dynamics and rheology of diverse soft materials including molecules, polymers, colloids and nanocomposites in the liquid, suspension, crystal, liquid crystalline, thin film, rubber, gel and glass states. Honors include the Dillon Medal, Polymer Physics Prize, and Fellowship from the American Physical Society, the Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids from the American Chemical Society, and the Drucker Eminent Faculty Award and undergraduate and graduate teaching excellence and student mentorship awards from UIUC.

Discussion in the course

Ken Schweizer presented excellent lectures exhibiting very impressive systematization, clearness and inspiration. His teaching has greatly helped and motivated our students. We are deeply thankful to Ken. The soft matter scholars had a warm and fruitful discussion after each lecture of the course.  


Source from South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology

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