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Omar Group @ UC Berkeley

Computational and Theoretical Soft Matter

· Research ·

Our research aims to advance our theoretical understanding of both natural and synthetic soft condensed matter systems. We leverage the tools of statistical mechanics, continuum mechanics and computer simulation to bridge microscopic details with the emergent properties and phenomena displayed by these systems. Our current interests are diverse – ranging from the nonequilibrium phase behavior and dynamics of active colloids and driven polymers to understanding the self-assembly pathways of complex phases. The unifying theme in these seemingly disparate areas is the significance of both conservative and nonconservative (e.g., hydrodynamic, active) forces in shaping the underlying dynamic landscape and material properties. We endeavor to investigate this interplay of thermodynamic and dissipative forces by utilizing and devising simulation and analytical techniques at the coarse-grained length and time scales of interest. Moreover, we aim to study systems that have clear connections to experiments and venture to make meaningful and experimentally verifiable predictions.

Interfacial Phenomena

Active Matter and Nonequilibrium Systems

Self-assembly 

· Recent News ·

    • Welcome to new postdoc, David King!!
    • Recent works on the mechanics of nucleation, chiral active matter, role of inertia in active phase behavior, and nonequilibrium multicomponent coexistence now available on arXiv! See links in the Papers section!
    • The group recently received an award from the Society of Hellman Fellows! Thanks for the support!
    • Congratulations to Gautam, Yoshi, Luke, and Nivedina for passing their qualifying exams and Eric and Oscar for passing their preliminary exams!!
    • Oscar has been awarded the Jane Lewis Fellowship by the College of Engineering. Way to go, Oscar!
    • Gautam’s collaborative work with Xuefei Xu, Tom Russell and a great team is out in Advanced Materials!  
    • Luke and Dan’s first group papers are now available on arXiv! Luke develops a capillary wave theory for active interfaces while Dan generalizes the theory of symmetry-breaking coexistence to nonequilibrium systems. 

· People ·

We are a diverse group of scientists that value, respect and welcome people regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, culture, gender identity, sexuality, age and disability. 

From left to right: Ahmad, Dan, Nivedina, Luke, Gautam, Eric, Yoshi, Oscar
Omar Group Photo August 2022!
From left to right: Ahmad, Dan, Luke, Gautam, Katherine, Yoshi, Adri, Nivedina (Photo Credit: Hyeongjoo Row)

Ahmad Omar

Assistant Professor (MSE)

Ahmad’s CV

aomar@berkeley.edu

Gautam Bordia

Graduate Student (MSE)

Co-advised w/ Ting Xu

B.S. Physics, UCSB

gbordia@berkeley.edu

Yu-Jen (Yoshi) Chiu

Graduate Student (MSE)

B.S. MSE, Penn State

yoshi_chiu@berkeley.edu

Daniel Evans

Graduate Student (MSE)

B.S. MSE, Michigan

danevans@berkeley.edu

Jiechao (Oscar) Feng

Graduate Student (AS&T)

B.S. Physics, Peking University

jiechao_feng@berkeley.edu

David King

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ph.D., Cambridge University

daking2@lbl.gov

 

Luke Langford

Graduate Student (MSE)

B.S. MSE, UC Berkeley

langford.luke@berkeley.edu

Nivedina Sarma

Graduate Student (MSE)

Co-advised w/ Phil Messersmith

B.S. Chemistry, U. Chicago

nivedina@berkeley.edu

Eric Weiner

Graduate Student (MSE)

B.S. CS and Math, Harvey Mudd

eric_weiner@berkeley.edu

 

· Papers ·

· Teaching ·

  • MSE 159: Introduction to Soft Matter Soft matter is ubiquitous in synthetic materials and plays a central role in living systems. This course aims to provide students with an introduction to the physics that govern the structure and dynamics of soft mater systems, including polymers, colloids, surfactants, membranes, and active matter. A particular emphasis will be placed on connecting a microscopic physical picture to the emergent phenomena and properties of interest using scaling theory and statistical mechanics. Specific topics will include Brownian motion and colloidal dynamics, the depletion force, polymer chain conformation, rubber elasticity; and surfactant and liquid crystal thermodynamics.

  • MSE 201B: Thermodynamics, Phase Behavior and Transport Phenomena in Materials This course covers the laws of classical thermodynamics, principles of statistical mechanics, and laws governing the transport of mass and momentum in materials. Applications include the construction of equilibrium and nonequilibrium phase diagrams and the kinetics of phase transformations in both soft and hard materials.

· Contact Us! ·

Our student/postdoc office is located at 248 Hearst Memorial Mining Building (HMMB). Ahmad’s office is located at 225 HMMB. Stop by and visit us!