Short introduction to the Lab
The Soft and Complex Matter Lab is currently located at NTNU's Department of Physics and Faculty of Natural Sciences.
Soft matter is typically composed of nano-/meso-structures, which are easily deformable when exposed to weak external fields, such as flow fields (microfluidics), mechanical forces, electric or magnetic fields, or thermal agitations. We study soft matter in the context of complex matter that results from self-assembly of various nano- or micro-sized building blocks. In our Lab we study, mainly experimentally, a variety of natural and sustainable complex and composite matter, ranging from clays to cellulose and plant-based materials, including more generally systems from the whole soft and complex matter realm (colloids, surfactants, polymers). We are particularly interested in natural and nature-inspired materials science, including geo-inspired materials and bio-mimetic phenomena.
In the framework of basic science, we try to understand how to reduce complexity to simplicity as much as possible without losing the essence (see illustrations below by Picasso and de Gennes).
The Lab works on the borderline between fundamental and applied physics, investigating both fundamental (for instance self-assembly of nano- or micro-sized building blocks, or gas and fluid flow through nano-porous media), or the potential of meso- or nano-structured nature-based materials for applications (for instance currently focusing on CO2 capture and gas separation, polymer composites, 2D nanolayered composites with groundbreaking potential for sustainable electronics applications, structural colors arising from clay nanolayers embedded in fluid or solid matrices, or physical chemistry of composite fluids/solids for food applications (emulsions)).
Complex matter can be “soft” or “hard”, and an essential part of our activities applies soft matter based “processing”, towards fabrication of “hard complex matter“ This includes 2D or 3D functional composite materials of various types, and their potential applications. Soft matter science is an essential ingredient in this process, but it is merely a small part of the whole picture.
Over the past 10 years, the Lab has coordinated several international projects with a total value of more than 10 MEUR in external funding, and thus the Lab has established several excellent long-term stable international complementary and interdisciplinary collaborations, including extensive exchanges and mobility, with leading research groups around the world (Nordic countries, EU, Latin-America, Asia, USA and others), including with groups that work with simulations or theory. The Lab is involved in many research projects with industry – not only in Norway but also inside and outside Europe. Two of the PIs have in fact been employed in industry 100% in periods. The group promotes exchanges of junior researchers to and from academic and industrial collaborators. The Lab thus serves Norway’s interests by educating highly qualified PhD students, who often continue their careers in prestigious institutions.
The Soft and Complex Matter Lab contributes to produce innovation through patents and projects involving national and international companies and applied research labs. We have altogether approximately 80 patent applications granted or pending in Europe, USA etc.
The Lab has a strong interdisciplinary profile of high international standing, and consequently also ranks very highly in the national research landscape. The Lab activities fit excellently within future local and global strategies by focusing on issues with societal relevance that are important for the green transition, health and economy, through research on sustainable composite matter based on low-cost, abundant, energy efficient natural materials, and therefore the societal impact dimension of the Lab was also highly rated in the recent evaluation of natural sciences in Norway (EVALNAT).
The equipment and method infrastructure located in the Soft and Complex Matter Lab at NTNU has purposely been “selected” and put together in order to tackle timely basic physical science problems, hand in hand with applied research, from the nanoscale via the mesoscale to the macroscale. This makes the Soft and Complex Matter Lab quite unique not only in Norway, but also internationally. The Lab makes ample and fruitful use of existing home resources (the Soft and Complex Matter Lab at NTNU, coupled to use of national infrastructure such as NTNU Nanolab), as well as extensive use of international large-scale synchrotron and neutron facilities, in addition to the labs of international collaborators.
The following is a collection of logos of our recent and funded collabrators.
