Soft and Active Matters is a captivating and interdisciplinary field that delves into the behavior and properties of complex fluids and interfaces. Its primary focus is on comprehending and controlling the distinctive characteristics of these materials. This multidisciplinary domain encompasses many research areas, including lithography, micro-optofluidics, multiphase flow, microgravity, colloids, emulsions, liquid crystals, responsive polymers, and cell mechanics.

Our team is focused on understanding Complex fluids and interfaces pertaining to materials that exhibit intricate behaviors due to the interactions between their constituent elements. These materials can be liquids, gels, foams, and suspensions. By investigating their properties, our researchers gain valuable insights into flow dynamics, stability, and interactions with surfaces. Such knowledge is pivotal in diverse applications, including developing advanced materials, biomedical devices, and environmental technologies.

Our expertise in Lithography, an essential technique for patterning materials at the micro and nanoscale, grants precise control over surface topography and chemical composition. Our department penetrates on microelectronics, photonics, and nanotechnology. Furthermore, when combined with micro-optofluidic, which integrates microfluidics and optics to manipulate fluids at the microscale while incorporating optical elements, it enables precise fluid control and manipulation. This provides wings to fly in lab-on-a-chip devices and biosensors domains.

Our expertise in Colloids and emulsions helped us understand their stability, interactions, and self-assembly processes which are crucial in food science, pharmaceuticals, and material synthesis applications. Liquid crystals exhibit exceptional properties and undergo phase transitions, making them highly valuable in displays, sensors, and optical devices. Alongside liquid crystals, responsive polymers demonstrate reversible changes in their properties in response to external stimuli. These polymers find applications in drug delivery, smart textiles, and sensors. Cell mechanics investigates cells' mechanical properties and behavior, including deformability, adhesion, and motility. Cell mechanics is vital in various biological and biomedical applications, ranging from tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to disease diagnostics.

Group Leaders:

Dr. Abir Ghosh, Dr.  Ankur Verma, Dr. Debdip Bhandary, Dr. Dinesh B., Dr. Manoj Kumar, Dr. Nitai C. Maji, Dr. Ravi P. Jaiswal, Dr Satarupa Dutta, Dr. Udita U. Ghosh