JOHN A. QUINN DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: “From Colloidal Matter to Colloidal Machines” (Sharon Glotzer, University of Michigan)

Abstract & Bio:

The growing ability to design and synthesize colloidal nanoparticles of arbitrary shape and interaction anisotropy creates the potential for realizing active complex particle assemblies with emergent behavior that mimics that of biological systems such as unicellular organisms and tissues. In this lecture, we present a new type of complex particle system we call “flexicles” – deformable cellular superstructures composed of active particles encapsulated by a flexible membrane. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the collective behavior of many-flexicle systems, demonstrating how shape deformability of individual flexicles gives rise to a diversity of motility-induced phase separation phenomena and the spontaneous flow of flexicles, reminiscent of cellular migration. We also show how individual flexicles are able to navigate through complex environments, and demonstrate how controlled production of defects in colloidal systems can be harnessed for shape-shifting and computing. Our findings demonstrate new, experimentally realizable classes of complex particle systems capable of novel, emergent behaviors and function.

Sharon C. Glotzer is the John W. Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She also holds faculty appointments in Physics, Applied Physics, and Macromolecular Science and Engineering. From July 2017 to 2025 she served as the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her research on computational assembly science and engineering aims toward the predictive materials design of colloidal and soft matter. Using computation, geometrical concepts, and statistical mechanics, her research group seeks to understand the complex behavior emerging from simple rules and forces and to use that knowledge to design new materials. Glotzer’s group also develops and disseminates powerful open-source software, including the particle simulation toolkit HOOMD-blue, which allows for fast molecular simulation of materials on graphics processors, the signac framework for data and workflow management, and freud for analysis and visualization. (https://github.com/glotzerlab/) Glotzer received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from UCLA and her PhD in Physics from Boston University. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Glotzer is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including most recently the 2025 Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics from the American Physical Society, the 2025 Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry from the American Chemical Society, the 2024 David Turnbull Lectureship Award from the Materials Research Society, and the 2024 Foundations of Molecular Modeling and Simulation (FOMMS) Medal for her fundamental contributions to the development of computational methods of particle assembly. In 2023, Glotzer was honored to be named a Clarivate Citation Laureate, joining a cohort of 23 world-class researchers who have made significant contributions across a diverse range of fields. Other awards include the Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics from the American Physical Society in 2019, the 2016 Alpha Chi Sigma Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the 2014 MRS Medal from the Materials Research Society.