Complex fluids# are markedly perturbed by thermal motion. Thus, we need to develop statistical mechanical theories. Of special concern is the relation between the entropy and various interactions between the molecules(electrostatic, van der Waals, hydrophobic).

Our research can be divided into two categories:

A) Biofluids.

  • Very stiff biopolymers: F-actin and microtubules (organization and dynamics)
  • DNA (both linear and supercoiled): in cells and viruses DNA is often close packed and interactions are very strong.
  • Polymer-protein interactions: phase separation phenomena.
  • Ion channels: active and passive transport.

B) Other fluids.

  • Turbulence (especially drag reduction).
  • Fibers (structure and dynamics).
  • Surfactant physics

#) Mesoscopic = Description on length scales larger than 1 nm and time scales greater than 1 µsec. All chemical details are swamped out.
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