This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) totaling $630,000 aims to develop "synthetic life-like materials and machines" using light-responsive active fluids. The project at Brandeis University will pursue two complementary research aims: Embedding a rigid inclusion in a photo-responsive active nematic liquid crystal to implement hybrid theory-experiment feedback and control the targeted dynamics of the...
This $308,031 three-year Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program supports research on the nonlinear electrohydrodynamics of motile particles in confinement. The project aims to develop mathematical models, analytical solutions, and computational methods to understand the behavior of micron-sized colloidal particles driven to rotate or roll by electric fields between two planar electrodes. The research integrates...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program will enable research on a new class of "active polymers" that can respond to local energy fluctuations. The $495,000 award to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) will support the development of experimental methods to produce and study the mobility of these active polymers, with a focus on how energy injection at the molecular level impacts their behavior...
This $269,703 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems supports research and education on dense suspensions under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041). Specifically, the awardee Brandeis University will conduct collaborative research from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2026 to develop understanding of microscopic correlations and macroscopic behavior in dense, shear-thickening suspensions. Using...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) Project Grant award of $330,000 supports theoretical and computational research by the University of California, Merced to describe and understand the behavior of biologically-inspired active solids. The research aims to create models that combine mechanical and chemical factors to investigate the unique shape changes and self-organization phenomena possible in active solids, such as those found in cell...
This $600,000 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund collaborative research between the University of South Florida and Princeton University from July 2022 to June 2025. The research aims to establish a predictive theoretical understanding of nanoscale gradients in rheological response at interfaces in glass-forming fluids. Specifically, the grant will support experiments to observe fluid flow and deformation at the nanometer scale,...
The National Science Foundation awarded a $409,795 Project Grant to the University of Houston System under the Engineering federal grant program (CFDA 47.041) to support fundamental research on the mechanics of active biological membranes from May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2026. The research aims to establish a rigorous theoretical framework integrating continuum mechanics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics to model active membranes. Specifically, the university will focus on entropic...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program provides $599,979 to Kent State University to conduct research on the hydrodynamics and electrokinetics of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals. The key objectives are to explore the fluid dynamics and electric polarization of these materials under shear force and electric fields, with potential applications in future microscale devices and advanced soft...
This $319,951 Project Grant, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Mathematical Sciences, supports the development and analysis of new computational methods for studying complex fluid systems on deforming surfaces. The key products and services to be delivered through this 3-year award include: Developing and analyzing a finite element method for tangential fluid systems on moving surfaces, a multi-component surface flow problem, and a fluid-elastic interface model to...
This is a $154,512 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Materials Research under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program. The funding supports research at Stanford University to investigate two-dimensional (2D) materials that combine viscous and elastic properties, allowing them to reorganize, self-heal, and transform under mechanical stress. The project aims to develop a new class of adaptive 2D materials with tunable mechanical and...
This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049), provides $333,827 to Brandeis University for research developing quantitative continuum theories of composite active fluids from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2025. The research will develop theoretical and computational frameworks to describe the dynamics of multi-component biological and synthetic fluids containing self-powered elements. It integrates phenomenological continuum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and data-driven modeling using experimental cytoskeletal data to advance understanding of non-reciprocal cross-diffusion processes in active composite fluids. Outcomes aim to yield insights applicable to engineering rapidly reconfigurable synthetic biomimetic materials. The funding also supports undergraduate education and community outreach initiatives related to soft materials and biophysics.