Weeks Soft Matter Laboratory

Prof. Eric R. Weeks, Physics Department, Emory University

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Suspensions of densely packed colloidal particles are a simple model system which exhibits a glass transition, as the concentration of the particles is increased. We use confocal microscopy to look at the particles and determine how their motion changes as the glass transition occurs. We study these materials in situations including flow through tubes and being poked with tiny magnetic beads. These experiments give us insights into the glass transition in a fashion impossible for regular glasses.

We also study the properties of other complex materials, including foams and sand. See below for information about our various projects.

Current Projects:

Soft particle clogging
Free energy landscapes
Diffusion along interfaces
Poking colloids with magnets
Confined colloids
Local structure in aging glasses
Emulsion glasses

Tutorials and other information:
Copies of our data sets
Directions to our lab
Physics of colloidal glass
Pictures of our lab
Tutorial on particle tracking
How a confocal microscope works

Clogging of soft particles We study the clogging of soft particles such as hydrogels and oil droplets, finding the probability that they clog when they drain out a funnel.	Free energy landscapes We've studied three simple model systems where we can directly compute and visualize free energy landscapes.
Confinement and the glass transition The glass transition is modified in confined spaces, but it's unclear why. We study colloidal particles confined between two parallel walls or in droplets or other small spaces; we find their motion slows down in these small systems.	Microrheology of interfaces Is the interface between oil and water a truly two dimensional object, or are three dimensional effects important for microscopic motion along the interface? What about soap films?
Emulsion glasses We visualize how droplets deform in a concentrated emulsion. In some circumstances emulsions can act like a glass, and studying the deformed droplet shapes should help us understand the emulsion glass transition.	Poking colloids with magnets We put small magnetic beads into colloidal glasses and pull on them with really strong neodymium magnets. How does this disturb the particles?

PAST PROJECTS
	Aging of colloidal glasses: Glasses are nonequilibrium systems, and as such, their properties are constantly evolving. We look for the microscopic details of this evolution.
	Diffusing rods: We looked at the Brownian motion of rods tumbling and drifting in 3D.
	Microscopic behavior of flowing colloids: We studied the behavior of colloids as they flow through tiny tubes. As they flow faster, the apparent viscosity decreases. What is the microscopic behavior responsible for this?
	Structure of colloidal gels: We studied the structure and dynamics of colloidal gels. How does the gel change when we vary the stickiness of the particles?
	Draining water from foam: As water flows between bubbles in a foam, does it flow like regular flow through a pipe? We found that it depends on the type of soap used to make the foam. Work done in collaboration with Stephan Koehler.
Tetrahedral structure in aging colloids: As colloidal glasses age, does their structure change? We find not, but that the local structure is correlated with the dynamics of the particles. NASA PCS-3 -- study of aging

FUNDING:

"Understanding microscopic dynamics in sheared highly polydisperse soft materials" from NSF (CBET-2306371)
Thermal fluctuations of colloidal gels from NASA (80NSSC22K0292)
"Collaborative research: Experimental and computational studies of flow and clogging of deformable particles under confinement" from NSF (CBET-2002815), in collaboration with Corey O'Hern (Yale) and Mark Shattuck (City College of New York)
Emory Halle Institute Collaborative Research Grant for collaborative research with Brazil, in collaboration with Rene Nome (UNICAMP), May '19 award
7/18 - 7/22: "Deformation and flow of highly polydisperse amorphous solids" from NSF (CBET-1804186)
9/16 - 8/20: "Using the emulsion glass transition to test the universality of jamming" from NSF (DMR-1609763)
6/17 - 5/18: University Research Committee of Emory University (Spring '17 award), in collaboration with James Kindt (chemistry dept.)
9/13 - 8/16: "Flow of colloids and emulsions: Microscopic details of rearrangements and stresses" from NSF (CBET-1336401)
10/12 - 9/15: "Collaborative Research: A data-driven statistical approach to aging and elasticity in colloidal glasses from NSF (CMMI-1250199/-1250235), in collaboration with Craig Maloney and Larry Wasserman (Carnegie Mellon University)
9/09 - 8/13: "Rotational and translational diffusion near the colloidal glass transition" from NSF (CHE-0910707)
9/09 - 8/13: "Flow and rheology of interfaces at microscopic length scales" from NSF (CBET-0853837)
8/08 - 7/12: "Using confinement to study the colloidal glass transition" from NSF (DMR-0804174)
7/08 - 8/10: The Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society (47970-AC9)
4/03 - 3/08: CAREER grant from NSF (DMR-0239109)
6/07 - 5/08: University Research Committee of Emory University (Spring '07 award)
6/06 - 5/08: Materials World Network grant from NSF (DMR-0603055)
4/02 - 4/08: NASA microgravity fluid physics (NAG3-2728) & PECASE
2/02 - 8/04: The Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society (37712-G7)

1/02 - 2/03: University Research Committee of Emory University (Fall '01 award)

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Nor anybody else's views, for that matter, just us. Contact Eric Weeks at erweeks(at)emory.edu.