The Softest Crystals

Abstract

Usually, crystals have three-dimensional periodicity. Smectic liquid crystals, however, have one-dimensional order, even in three-dimensional samples. These systems, as simple as they might seem, connect the physics of biomembranes, superconductivity, and even special relativity. In this lecture, the speaker will provide an introduction for non-specialists and show how this diverse set of ideas comes together in these very, very soft systems.

About the speaker

Prof. Randall Kamien received his PhD in Physics from Harvard University in 1992. He then joined the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton as a Member and moved to the University of Pennsylvania in 1995, where he is currently the Vicki and William Abrams Professor in the Natural Sciences.

Prof. Kamien’s research interests center on problems in condensed matter theory. He is currently exploring problems in liquid crystals, foams, soft self-assembly, and biological physics.

Prof. Kamien received the G.W. Gray Medal from the British Liquid Crystal Society in 2016. He was also elected a Simons Investigator (2013), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2003) and a Fellow of the American Physical Society (2001).