Dirk Aarts

Professor of Chemistry

We are working in soft condensed matter with a focus on the phase, interface and flow behaviour of colloidal particles. Our main experimental technique is optical microscopy, which includes confocal microscopy, fluorescence and simple video-microscopy (homemade and commercial microscopes). We typically combine this with microfluidics and optical tweezers.

Colloidal suspensions and their interfaces are ubiquitous in nature and have attracted the interest of scientists for many centuries. Colloidal systems are highly interesting and relevant, as they find numerous applications in several industrial branches. In addition, colloids are widely accepted as a versatile model system for atoms and molecules as their rich phase behaviour is analogous to that of atomic and molecular systems. The typical colloidal length and time scales make it possible to directly observe colloidal particles in real-space and real-time using video and confocal microscopy. Advanced colloid chemistry techniques are available to tune the chemical and physical properties of the particles or even to develop completely new and unique colloidal model systems.

For more information, please visit my research pages.

Research area Imaging Optical Physics

Research interests Colloids Microfluidics Microscopy Optical trapping

Department Chemistry

Robin Cleveland

Professor of Engineering Science

My research is in the area of acoustics, primarily focused on biomedical acoustics with applications in both diagnostics and therapeutics.

Stuart Conway

Professor of Organic Chemistry

The focus of our research is the development of selective molecular probes to enable investigation of certain biological systems.

Gavin Dalton

Professor of Astrophysics

I am working on wide‐field imaging and fibre‐fed spectroscopy instrumentation in visible and near‐infrared astronomy, both in instrument construction and science exploitation.

Jason Davis

Professor in Chemistry and University Reader

Our research bridges fundamental chemistry with real-world application, with a growing focus on translational diagnostics and molecular sensing.

Nynke Dekker

Professor

Our long-term goal is to understand how molecular motors work together with accessory factors in the copying of DNA or RNA

Steve Elston

Professor of Engineering Science

My present research interests are mainly in the field of novel liquid crystal materials and applications, within which I undertake both theoretical and experimental work.

Nigel Emptage

Professor of Pharmacology

Our research in neuroscience is supported by the development of novel optical imaging tools, particularly through high resolution microscopy.

Julian Fells

EPSRC Research Fellow

My research is focuses on the development of new sensor technology using laser-written Fibre Bragg gratings

Stephen Fletcher

Professor of Chemistry

My research is in the area of synthetic organic chemistry. About half of my group works on projects related to photonics.

Marco Fritzsche

Professor of Biophysical Immunology (Innovation Investigator Track)

My research focuses on the understanding of the mechanobiology of the human immunity.