Welcoming Dr. Priyanka Joshi to the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology
February 11th, 2026
ISM is pleased to welcome Dr. Priyanka Joshi as a new Institute member. Dr. Joshi is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology at Georgetown University Medical Center, where she directs the Laboratory of Biomolecular Homeostasis and Resilience.…
Uric Acid Microspheres: Unexpected Architecture in Reptile Waste Reveals New Soft Matter Insights
December 10th, 2025
A newly published study led by ISM member Prof. Jennifer Swift and collaborators, “Uric Acid Monohydrate Nanocrystals: An Adaptable Platform for Nitrogen and Salt Management in Reptiles,” explores the surprising nanostructure of uric acid waste produced by ball pythons.…
Professor Blair elected APS Fellow
October 27th, 2025
Professor Dan Blair, Director of Graduate Studies, has been named Fellow of the American Physical Society, for the Division of Soft Matter Physics. Read more in the College story here.…
Inside ISM’s Shared Soft Matter Facility at Georgetown University
October 8th, 2025
The Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISMSM) at Georgetown University is home to two state-of-the-art shared facilities designed to advance discovery in soft matter research. By opening these labs to academic collaborators, industry partners, and Georgetown scientists, ISMSM provides the tools, expertise, and collaborative environment needed to tackle challenges in materials science, physics, chemistry, and beyond.…
Ascorbic Acid Improves the Mechanical Properties of Collagen-Based Matrix
October 3rd, 2025
A new study led by Micaila Curtis in collaboration with Dr. Xinran Zhang and the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISMSM) amongst others, titled “Ascorbic Acid Improves the Mechanical Properties of Collagen-Based Matrix” and published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, reveals how Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) enhances the structure and mechanical integrity of collagen matrices—even in the absence of cells.…
ISM Day 2025 Brings Together Researchers Across Disciplines
September 26th, 2025
The Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISM) hosted ISM Day 2025 last week on Georgetown University’s Main Campus, bringing together scientists from across disciplines to share their work and spark new collaborations.…
Leah Chen: From Physics to Public Health, Bridging Science and Global Health at Georgetown
September 9th, 2025
When Leah Chen (C’25) first arrived at Georgetown, she wasted no time jumping into research. “First or second week of freshman year, I was emailing the head of the physics department about research opportunities, and then immediately got involved in the Van Keuren lab,” she recalled.…
Toretsky Named Inaugural Hyundai Hope on Wheels Endowed Chair in Pediatric Oncology
September 8th, 2025
(September 7, 2025) — In honor of his dedication to pediatric cancer research, Jeffrey A. Toretsky, MD, professor of oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, was formally named the…
Celebrating Excellence: 2025 ISM Ambassador Award Recipients
August 22nd, 2025
The Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISMSM) at Georgetown University is proud to recognize four outstanding members of our community: Leah Chen, Isabel Early, Eleni Hughes, and Charles Ochonma…
ISM Director Emanuela Del Gado Featured as Plenary Speaker at International Conference on Statistical Physics
July 23rd, 2025
This July, the global statistical physics community gathered in Florence, Italy, for the 29th edition of the International Conference on Statistical Physics (StatPhys29) a flagship event of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), held every three years. The 2025 meeting brought together over 1,500 researchers from across disciplines to explore the fundamental principles shaping complex systems, from quantum fluids to biological networks.…
Heman Bekele Brings Vision for Accessible Cancer Treatment to ISM Summer Research
July 23rd, 2025
This summer, Heman Bekele, named TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year for his development of a low-cost, cancer-fighting soap joined the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISMSM) at Georgetown University to expand his scientific knowledge and deepen his understanding of drug delivery mechanisms. …
2025 – 2026 Soft Matter Graduate Fellowship Recipients
June 24th, 2025
Meet the two fellowship recipients and their research.…
MASM 25: Dynamic Day of Discovery in Soft Matter
June 20th, 2025
On Friday, May 30, 2025, the 25th Mid-Atlantic Soft Matter Workshop (MASM) convened at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, bringing together scientists from across academia, industry, and national laboratories. …
9th Chesapeake Bay Area Single Molecule Biology Meeting at Georgetown University
May 29th, 2025
On May 3rd, 2025, Georgetown University hosted the 9th Chesapeake Bay Area Single Molecule Biology Meeting (CBASMB)—a dynamic day of science at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology, and computation. Now in its ninth year, the CBASMB meeting continues to serve as a vital regional forum for researchers unraveling the complexities of life at the single-molecule level.…
Georgetown Scientists Explore Double Network Gels That Can Be Programmed Like Smart Materials
May 15th, 2025
A new study led by Georgetown University’s Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISMSM) researchers, Prof. Emanuela Del Gado, Dr. Mauro L. Mugnai and Rose Tchuenkam Batoum, titled “Inter-Species Interactions in Dual, Fibrous Gel Enable Control of Gel Structure and Rheology,” published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals a powerful way to fine-tune the structure and stiffness of soft gels. These are materials found in everything from biomedical devices to synthetic tissues.…
Molecular Nanohoops Reveal Unexpected Topological Transition
May 7th, 2025
A new study led by Dr. Miklos Kertesz and his team at Georgetown University, “Quinonoid radial π-conjugation” published in Chemical Science, uncovers a remarkable electronic transformation in a novel class of molecular nanohoops—compact, ring-shaped systems composed of alternating aromatic and quinonoid units. The research investigates how changing the ratio of these two components affects the nanohoops’ electronic structure, leading to surprising and potentially useful behavior.…
Nuclear Speckle Protein SRRM2 Dissolves During Anaphase in Ewing Sarcoma Cells
April 3rd, 2025
A new study led by Dr. Jeffrey Toretsky and his team at Georgetown University investigates the role of the nuclear speckle protein SRRM2 in Ewing Sarcoma (ES), offering fresh insights into how oncogenic condensates influence gene regulation. The research, conducted in collaboration with Julie Forman-Kay’s lab at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, uses advanced imaging techniques to track SRRM2 dynamics in live and fixed ES cells.…
Georgetown Researchers Uncover Key Differences in Bacterial Protein Regulation
February 11th, 2025
A new study led by Dr. Rodrigo Maillard at Georgetown University, “Identifying Allosteric Hotspots in Mycobacterium tuberculosis cAMP Receptor Protein through Structural Homology,” published in Biochemistry sheds light on how bacteria regulate their genes, challenging long-held assumptions about protein behavior. Published in Biochemistry, the research compares how two bacterial species—Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis—use a signaling molecule called cyclic AMP (cAMP) to control important cellular functions.…
Advancing Biomimetic Materials at Georgetown University
January 29th, 2025
Researchers within the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology (ISMSM) at Georgetown University, in collaboration with TU Eindhoven, have developed groundbreaking synthetic gel materials that mimic the dynamic properties of biological extracellular matrices. …
Unveiling the Sticky Secrets of Giardia: How a Parasitic Cell Masters Attachment
December 16th, 2024
Recent developments from Prof. Van Keuren and his students. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Georgetown faculty members Biology Professor Heidi Elmendorf and Physics Professor Jeff Urbach used a combination of high-resolution imaging, computational modeling, theoretical analysis, innovative experimentation, to conclusively demonstrate that a version of the flow-based model accurately captures the biophysics of Giardia attachment.…
Updates from Van Keuren Group
November 18th, 2024
Recent developments from Prof. Van Keuren and his students. …
ISM Researchers Investigate Shear-Thickening Suspensions
October 23rd, 2024
A collaboration between the Urbach and Blair groups has been published. …
New Publication from Prof. Del Gado
October 3rd, 2024
The Del Gado group proposes a new analysis method for characterizing soft gels. …
Prof. Esther Braselmann Hosts Visiting Students
August 6th, 2024
Prof. Braselmann welcomed a collaborator and students from Fairfield University.…
2024-2025 Soft Matter Graduate Fellowship Recipients
June 28th, 2024
Meet the three fellowship recipients and their research.…
Prof. Maillard Delivers Seminar
March 22nd, 2024
Prof. Maillard was invited to discuss his research at an international conference. …
Recent Publication from Van Keuren Group
February 20th, 2024
The Van Keuren lab investigated liquid-core polymer nanocapsules. …
Prof. Olmsted Named APS Councilor
February 14th, 2024
An interview with Prof. Olmsted concerning his new position representing soft matter for the APS. …
New Publication from Prof. Del Gado
November 27th, 2023
Prof. Del Gado and ISM researchers investigated the mechanism of reinforcing hydrogels with nanofillers. …
Prof. Weiss Recipient of Two Awards
November 13th, 2023
Prof. Weiss is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award and the Hillebrand Prize.…
Celebrating ISM Day 2023
September 26th, 2023
Researchers from ISM and affiliates gathered to discuss current research and future opportunities. …
2023 – 2024 Soft Matter Graduate Fellowship Recipients
August 4th, 2023
Meet the two fellowship recipients and their research.…
Recent Research from Prof. Weiss
July 20th, 2023
A recent publication from ISM members investigating the dependence of proton transfer in ionomers on the dielectric constant of the solvent. …
Celebrating Black Talent in Chemistry
June 19th, 2023
A collaboration including an ISMSM researcher published an editorial highlighting the experience of Black scientists. …
Georgetown Receives $21M From NIST to Train U.S. STEM Workforce
May 22nd, 2023
A group of Georgetown faculty secured up to $21 million in funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide laboratory experience and financial support to…
New Publication from Prof. Urbach
May 3rd, 2023
Recent research from Prof. Urbach on diffusion behavior in colloidal bananas. …
3D Printing in Cement-Based Construction
March 3rd, 2023
New research from the Del Gado group on how 3D printing can reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process. …
Recent Publication from Metallo Group
February 8th, 2023
Research from Prof. Metallo investigating small molecule binding sites in IDPs. …
![A, B} Spatial map of dynamical heterogeneities obtained in simulations of model colloidal gels. [1,2] C) 3D rendering of a confocal microscopy image of a part of a colloidal gel taken in the Blair lab](https://softmatter.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/279/2023/01/1-24-grant-article.png "A, B} Spatial map of dynamical heterogeneities obtained in simulations of model colloidal gels. [1,2] C) 3D rendering of a confocal microscopy image of a part of a colloidal gel taken in the Blair lab")
Profs. Blair, Del Gado, and Urbach win a 3 year grant from the National Science Foundation
January 24th, 2023
Profs. Blair, Del Gado, and Urbach won a 3 year grant of $691,996 from the National Science Foundation for a combined experimental and computational investigation of the role of microscopic rotations, fluctuations, and friction in an important class of particle gels. …
Recent Research from Prof. Van Keuren
December 9th, 2022
Prof. Van Keuren has been involved in two recent publications.…
Physics Major Wins Award
October 18th, 2022
Sophie Taylor, and undergraduate researcher in an ISM lab, won an award for her poster at PhysCon. …
ISM Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
September 26th, 2022
Researchers from ISM and soft matter community gathered to discuss current research and new opportunities.…
Recent Research from ISM Collaboration
September 20th, 2022
Prof. Kertesz and collaborators published research on the formation of diradicaloids in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. …
2022 – 2023 Soft Matter Graduate Fellowship Recipients
August 29th, 2022
Meet the two fellowship recipients, Davina Adderley and Victor Francis. …
ISM Collaboration on Relaxation in Soft Materials
August 12th, 2022
Prof. Del Gado and collaborators have recently published research on the microscopic dynamics underlying stress relaxation. …
ISM Researchers Study Flow in Cornstarch Suspensions
August 10th, 2022
Recent research from the groups of Profs Blair and Urbach reveals insight on how oobleck works.…
Recent Research from Toretsky Group
June 22nd, 2022
Prof. Toretsky recently published a paper concerning mRNA splicing in Ewing sarcoma. …
Georgetown Physicist Studies Glass Transition in Polymers
June 7th, 2022
A paper co-authored by Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences professor Peter Olmsted has been published in the American Physical Society journal Physical Review X. …
New Publication from Prof. Olmsted
May 2nd, 2022
ISMSM faculty member Prof. Peter Olmsted recently published the paper “Probing the nonequilibrium dynamics of stress, orientation, and entanglements in polymer melts with orthogonal interrupted shear simulations”. …
ISMSM Researchers Present at APS March Meeting
April 4th, 2022
Several ISMSM faculty and student researchers gave presentations at the American Physical Society March Meeting…
Recent Research from ISMSM Collaboration
March 7th, 2022
Updates on recent research and upcoming publications from Professor Kertesz of the ISMSM and collaborators concerning novel conjugated polymers and their properties.…
Prof. Paranjape Publishes Paper in Langmuir
February 9th, 2022
Professor Paranjape, with graduate student O’Brien, recently published a paper introducing a model for the dynamic surface tension of surfactant-enhanced polydimethylsiloxane. …
Updates for the Weiss Group
December 8th, 2021
A summary of the recent activity of the Weiss group, including a recent publication and presentations given. …
Prof. Miklos Kertesz receives NSF Grant
September 30th, 2021
The project “Collaborative Research: Aggregation mechanisms in carbon nanomaterials based on pi-conjugated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons” joint between Miklos Kertesz (Department of Chemistry and ISMSM at Georgetown University) and Prof. Hans Lischka at Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX) received a new NSF grant…
Professor Peter Olmsted Awarded National Science Foundation grant
August 19th, 2021
Professor Peter Olmsted was recently awarded an National Science Foundation grant on the topic of “Integrated Material Design and Processing–Application to Recycled Plastics”. The project…
Prof. Emanuela Del Gado and Post-doctoral Researcher Abhay Goyal Publish Paper in Science Advances
August 9th, 2021
Department of Physics and post-doctoral researcher Abhay Goyal create a novel model for studying the cohesive strength of cement in the hopes of creating greener infrastructure. …
Professor Peter Olmsted elected a Fellow of the Society of Rheology
May 7th, 2021
Professor Peter Olmsted has been elected a Fellow of the Society of Rheology. Fellows are selected based on distinguished scientific achievement, significant technological accomplishment, and/or outstanding scholarship in the field of Rheology. Service to the Society is also an important component to Fellowship status.…
Prof. Jeff Urbach on Podcast with Provost Groves
February 23rd, 2021
As part of the Provost’s Podcast: Faculty in Research, Prof. Jeff Urbach discussed his love of physics and his career in science with Provost Robert Groves. Listen to their…
Professor Daniel Blair and co-workers investigate viscosity of active microtubules
October 27th, 2020
In an article titled “Shear-Induced Gelation of Self-Yielding Active Networks”, recently published in Physical Review Letters, postdoctoral researchers David Gagnon and Claudia Dessi, Professor Daniel Blair, and their collaborators studied the rheology of microtubule-based active materials. …
Pancake bonding pulls conjugated pi-radicals together to short maximum overlap configurations
December 13th, 2019
How do molecules stick together to form electronic conducting pathways? One mechanism for generating parallel pi-stacking geometry with maximum orbital overlap is obtained in a form of multicenter…
Physics Graduate students present posters at the Materials Research Society conference in Boston, MA
December 10th, 2019
Graduate students Scott Melis and Eleni Hughes recently presented posters at the 2019 Materials Research Society conference in Boston, MA.…
Prof. Daniel Blair gives McGroddy Frontiers in Science Seminar
November 19th, 2019
Prof. Daniel Blair gave a McGroddy Frontiers in Science Seminar at St. Joseph’s University on “From self-yielding to solidification: How extensile active gels tune their response to…
Prof. Van Keuren Receives Two New NIH Grants
November 19th, 2019
Prof. Ed Van Keuren has recently received two new grants from the National Institutes of Health. One is for the development of nanoparticles of a novel copolymer to treat acute kidney injury.…
Prof. Hahm co-wrote an ACS Nano VI editorial, ‘Women in Nanotechnology: Toward Better Materials through Better Understanding of Low-Dimensional Systems’ with Prof. Ana de Bettencourt-Dias.
August 7th, 2018
Prof. Hahm co-wrote an ACS Nano VI editorial, ‘Women in Nanotechnology: Toward Better Materials through Better Understanding of Low-Dimensional Systems’ with Prof. Ana de…
Prof. Richard Weiss Presented with “Medal of Honor” by the Brazilian Chemical Society
June 1st, 2018
Prof. Weiss was an invited plenary lecture at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Chemical Society, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil. During the meeting, Prof. Weiss was presented with…
Prof. Richard Weiss to present at 41st. SBQ Annual Meeting and receive a JBCS tribute
June 1st, 2018
Prof. Richard Weiss has been invited to present at the 41st. SBQ Annual Meeting, which will be held from May 21 to 24, in Foz do Iguaçu. Prof. Weiss will also receive a Journal…
Prof. Van Keuren’s Visit to Japan and Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM) at Tohoku University in Sendai
June 1st, 2018
During his sabbatical, Prof. Van Keuren visited Japan during March and April, working most of that time in the group of Prof. Hidetoshi Oikawa in the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for…
Professor Emanuela Del Gado co-organizes a successful workshop on Dense Suspensions at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Santa Barbara
May 29th, 2018
Professor Emanuela Del Gado co-organizes a successful workshop on Dense Suspensions at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Santa Barbara. The workshop ran from…
Vikram Rathee Wins the Postdoctoral Speaker Award from the APS Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
March 9th, 2018
Vikram Rathee has won the Postdoctoral Speaker Award from the APS Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics at this year’s March Meeting for his talk “Insight into Shear Thickening…
Prof. Olmsted Co-Authors Paper in Nature Physics
December 13th, 2017
December 11, 2017 — A paper co-authored by Georgetown College physics professor Peter Olmsted has been published in the journal Nature Physics. The paper, “Frustration and thermalization…
Georgetown-Indian Institute of Science Initiative in Soft Matter Workshop
August 30th, 2017
A two-day workshop on a diverse range of soft matter subjects was held on 25-26 August 2017 under the sponsorship of Georgetown’s India Initiative and the I(SM)2. It was attended by six…
Active Materials Project Summer School
June 1st, 2017
The Active Materials Project summer school will run from Sunday, June 11th through Thursday, June 15th, 2017 on the Campus of Georgetown University. The event will bring together graduate…
Professor Hahm Wins Main Campus Research Achievement Award
October 28th, 2016
Professor Jong-In Hahm, Associate Professor of Physics and member of the Institute, has been awarded the Distinguished Research Award for the Main Campus. Professor Hahm will receive…
Adsorption of proteins on patterned surfaces
September 1st, 2016
Research efforts led by Professor Jong-in Hahm, recently published in ACS Nano, 2016, 10 (8), pp 7705–7720, DOI: provide new insight into controlling the adsorption configuration, backbone…
New ISM Member joins Georgetown Department of Chemistry
August 1st, 2016
Nagarjuna Gavvalapalli has joined us from the University of Illinois@Urbana Champaign. He is in the Chemistry Department and provides expertise in synthetic macromolecular chemistry. To push…
Workshop on Dense Colloidal Suspensions Held at ISMSM.
June 18th, 2016
A Workshop on Dense Colloidal Suspensions was held Thursday/Friday 16-17 June 2016). You can read about it. You can view the program for the…
A Crack in the Mystery of ‘Oobleck’—Friction Thickens Fluids
April 22nd, 2016
By revealing missing details behind the odd behavior of a science-fair favorite—a soupy mixture known as “oobleck” that switches back and forth between liquid and solid— scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Georgetown University could help to end a long-running scientific debate and improve processes ranging from pouring concrete to making better body armor.…
USA Science and Engineering Festival
April 20th, 2016
The 4th USA Science & Engineering Festival was held April 16-17, 2016 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Well over 700 people visited the Georgetown University had a booth covering Biology, Physics and Chemistry, including making ice cream using liquid nitrogen!…
NIST PREP-MML Program Awarded to Georgetown University (up to $7.7M)
March 7th, 2016
On 1 February 2016 Georgetown University (Departments of Chemistry and Physics) was awarded a Professional Research Experience Program (GU PREP-MML), from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The program is led by Peter Olmsted in the Department of Physics, and will begin in summer 2016.…
Novel insight into the mesoscale texture of cement hydrates
February 22nd, 2016
Research by Prof. Del Gado, which appeared this month on PNAS early edition, has provided new understanding of cement hydrates' mesoscale texture, a crucial step to connect the fundamental scales to the macroscale of engineering properties in cement and concrete.…
Workshop on "Rheology of Dense Particulate Suspensions"
February 6th, 2016
A workshop on “Rheology of dense particulate suspensions” will be held at Georgetown University, 16-17 June 2016.…
MASM Meeting at NIH, 29 January 2016
November 18th, 2015
The next installment of MASM will take place at new location for the workshop. The National Institutes of Health will host the next MASM on Friday January 29, 2016. http://masm.physics.georgetown.edu…
