{"467701":{"#nid":"467701","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Breakfast Club Seminar","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0022Toroidal Fun\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlberto Fern\u00e1ndez De Las Nieves, Ph.D.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAssociate Professor\u003Cbr \/\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAbstract\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWe study the physics of soft materials and also do physics with soft materials. In this talk, I will present an overview of some of our recent work involving, in one or another way, the use of tori. We will cover how we make toroidal and how we stabilize them against surface tension instabilities; this altogether provides an interesting way to 3D print materials. We will then discuss what we use toroidal droplets and hydrogels for. This includes the study of conventional and active liquid crystals confined to toroidal spaces, and addressing whether geometry affects cell behavior. I will then leave the torus and briefly discuss our work with colloidal hydrogels and fire ant aggregations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch focus\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003ESoft materials are materials whose properties are determined by internal structures with dimensions between atomic sizes and macroscopic scales. They are characterized by energies that are typically comparable to KBT. As a result, they have low elastic moduli, often ~1-10 Pascals. Typical soft materials include liquid crystals, polymers, colloidal suspensions and emulsion drops. These materials, unlike conventional simple liquids, are locally heterogeneous and can have broken symmetries that affect their physical properties. Hence, although they often exhibit liquid-like behavior, soft materials also often exhibit properties of solids.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOur laboratory studies the physics of soft materials with a focus on the connection between microscopic order and macroscopic properties. The underlying theme is to pursue basic understanding and address fundamental questions. However, we also address applied problems and pursue industrial collaborations since many of the materials we study can be viewed as model systems for those that are often used in applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, an internationally recognized hub of multidisciplinary research at the Georgia Institute of Technology, brings engineers, scientists, and clinicians together to solve some of the world\u2019s most complex health challenges. With 17 research centers, more than 170 faculty members, and $24 million in state-of-the-art facilities, the Petit Institute is translating scientific discoveries into game-changing solutions to solve real-world problems.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Petit Institute Breakfast Club seminar series was started with the spirit of the Institute\u0027s interdisciplinary mission in mind and started to feature local Petit Institute faculty member\u0027s research in a seminar format. Faculty are often asked to speak at other universities and conferences, but rarely present at their home institution, this seminar series is an attempt to close that gap. The Petit Institute Breakfast Club is open to anyone in the bio-community.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u0022Toroidal Fun\u0022 - Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez De Las Nieves, Ph.D. - Georgia Tech"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2015-11-09 15:24:06","changed_gmt":"2017-04-13 21:17:41","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2016-01-12T12:30:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2016-01-12T13:30:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2016-01-12T13:30:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2016-01-12 17:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2016-01-12 18:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2016-01-12 18:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"70917":{"id":"70917","type":"image","title":"Breakfast Club Seminar Series","body":null,"created":"1449177328","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:15:28","changed":"1475894625","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:45","alt":"Breakfast Club Seminar Series","file":{"fid":"193471","name":"logobldg_graphic.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/logobldg_graphic_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/logobldg_graphic_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":241588,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/logobldg_graphic_0.png?itok=x84xf3Mz"}}},"media_ids":["70917"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/fernandezlab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Fern\u00e1ndez-Nieves website"},{"url":"http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/breakfast-club","title":"Breakfast Club Seminar schedule"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"248","name":"IBB"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"},{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EColly Mitchell\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}