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SUMMARY:From Arrested Phase Separation to Novel Biomaterials
LOCATION:Chemistry A101
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20203001T000000
UID:2026-05-18-12-36-43@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20260518T123643
Description:\nAbout the Seminar:\nGels are perhaps the most misunderstood o
 f everyday materials. We begin by providing robust thermodynamic definitio
 ns of particulate gels [1]\, a journey which blends phase separation with 
 one of the great materials science challenges of our time: the glass trans
 ition [2-3]. We have made significant steps in addressing the glass transi
 tion\, and present a unification scenario for the competing theoretical ap
 proaches\, revealing that in fact the so-called glass wars may be understo
 od as different facets of the same phenomenon [4]. Applying these concepts
  to solidification in basic model gels formed of colloidal particles [5] e
 nables us to determine their failure mechanisms\, crucial for many applica
 tions where mechanical failure is (mistakenly) perceived by the consumer a
 s irreversible product degradation.\nGoing to lengthscales much smaller th
 an those pertinent for micron-sized colloids\, using the new technique of 
 nano-real space analysis [6]\, made possible by the advent of super-resolu
 tion imaging [7]\, we exploit soft matter self-assembly concepts to engine
 er novel assemblies of proteins and enzymes. By assembling suitable protei
 ns\, which may be designed with de novo protein methodology\, we are able 
 to produce a platform for a new class of materials with energy and chemica
 l synthesis applications. So far\, we have assembled networks of fluoresce
 nt proteins with controllable domain size\, along with enzymes that exhibi
 t electron transfer and model biochemical reaction pathways as a proof of 
 principle [8].\n[1] CP Royall\, SR Williams and H Tanaka H\, “Vitrificat
 ion and gelation in sticky spheres”\, J. Chem.\nPhys. 148 044501 (2018).
 \n[2] CP Royall and SR Williams “The role of local structure in dynamica
 l arrest”\, Phys. Rep.\, 560\n1 -75 (2015).\n[3] CP Royall\, F Turci\, S
  Tatsumi\, J Russo and J Robinson\, “The race to the bottom: approaching
 \nt he ideal glass?”\, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 30 363001 (2018).\n[4] 
 F Turci\, CP Royall and T Speck “Non-Equilibrium Phase Transition in an 
 Atomistic Glassformer:\nt he Connection to Thermodynamics”\, Phys. Rev. 
 X\, 7 031028 (2017).\n[5] CP Royall\, SR Williams\, T Ohtsuka and H Tanaka
 \, “Direct observation of a local structural\nmechanism for dynamic arre
 st”\, Nature Materials 7 556-561\, (2008).\n[6] JE Hallett\, F Turci and
  CP Royall\, “Local structure in deeply supercooled liquids exhibits\ng 
 rowing lengthscales and dynamical correlations”\, Nature Commun. 9 3272 
 (2018).\n[ 7] SW Hell “Nanoscopy with Focused Light” Nobel Prize Lectu
 re (2014).\n[8] I Rios de Anda\, A Coutable-Pennarun\, C Brasnett\, S Whi
 telam\, A Seddon\, J Russo\, JLR\nAnderson and CP Royall\, ArXiV 1911.0585
 7 (2019).\nAbout the Speaker:\nCP Royall interested in tackling key unsolv
 ed problems in everyday materials. He combines computer simulations and no
 vel experiments where suspensions of micron-sized colloidal particles\, wh
 ose Brownian motion leads them to obey statistical mechanics in the same w
 ay as atoms and molecules\, are imaged in 3D at the single-particle level.
  This two-pronged approach is uniquely powerful for tackling a wide range 
 of problems in condensed matter. Key areas of interest include the nature 
 of glass\, the role of amorphous structures in understanding self-assembly
 \, and the influence of networks in materials\, such as gels and mobility 
 graphs in dynamical arrest. 4:00 pm
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