GSOFT Short Course: Structures and Order in Soft Matter Physics

The emergence of order is ubiquitous in soft-matter systems. Researchers observe a variety of different order phenomena, ranging from ordered crystalline structures, liquid crystals, and partially ordered systems, to glassy structures. At times it can be challenging to understand the arising structures, from a lack of either suitable experimental procedures or access to structure analysis methods.
The course will start with an overview of the increasingly diverse structures arising in soft matter systems, and introduce how these structures can be described. More intricate structural aspects will be highlighted in reviews of different kinds of simulation studies. The course will then review techniques of determining structures in experimental systems, such as optical microscopy, transmission or scanning electron microscopy, and scattering methods.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone who needs or wants to describe the structure of the soft-matter systems they study, on the colloidal or nano-scale, both in experiments and simulations. Designed to give an introduction into a wide range of experimental and simulation methods for structure determination.
Organizers
Chrisy Xiyu Du and Julia Dshemuchadse, University of Michigan