Brett Flanders

Associate Professor

http://www.phys.ksu.edu/research/condensed-matter.html

Ph.D.:  University of Chicago, 1999

Dr. Flanders is working in the area of soft matter nanotechnology and biological physics.  Dendritic solidification is the growth of a needle-shaped crystal in a surrounding liquid phase and is governed by the stationary diffusion equation.  The process pervades alloy crystallization, solidification from supercooled melts, and electrochemical deposition.  It underlies snowflake growth, and it bears a fundamental similarity to viscous fingering in hydrodynamics.  We have developed the directed electrochemical nanowire assembly (DENA) technique for fabricating crystalline and amorphous nanowires on micro-electrode arrays.  DENA harnesses the dendritic solidification process to induce and direct the growth of these wires.  Currently, we grow metallic and polymeric wires.  We are working to extend the approach to bio-polymeric materials that are prohibitively difficult to study in their natural environments.  The wire-laden electrode arrays are of potential use for cell physiological studies.  Work on this application is ongoing, as well.  

Robert Szoszkiewicz

Assistant Professor

http://www.phys.ksu.edu/szoszlab/

Ph.D.:  Swiss Federal Inst of Tech., Lausanne, Switzerland, 2003

Dr. Szoszkiewicz is working at the interface of biology, chemistry and physics.  We would like to address quantitatively issues spanning from mechanics and mechanochemical reactions of single molecules under force, up to mechanics of systems of biomolecules.  We want as well to translate certain structure-functionality relations (and in particular those dwelling on cellular functionality) into man-made surfaces and devices, and to start with by working with the nanopatterned templates for controllable assembly of single molecules.