Arlette R.C.Baljon Associate Professor Department of Physics San Diego State University San Diego, CA 92128 Office: P-134 Tel: (619)-594-2051 Fax: (619)-594-5485

        Research: Physics of - Polymeric and Biological - Soft Matter
       

Physics may be viewed as a collection of concepts.  By combining these concepts we are able to understand a wide range of phenomena.  My area of research, soft matter physics, is only a few decades old.  Hence, unlike in older fields, many phenomena can not be explained in terms of established concepts.  New ones must be developed.

To contribute to the formulation of these new concepts is the main purpose of my work.  To this end, I perform computer simulations of yet unexplained phenomena.  Insights obtained in these studies pave the way for more encompassing theories and constitutive equations with a wide range of applications. 

A more specific objective is to enhance physical understanding of  polymeric materials and biological systems driven far from equilibrium by a stress that is high relative to intrinsic relaxation times. This involves phenomena like yielding and phase slip, plasticity, crazing, shear banding, flow-induced ordering, memory, slip-stick flow, and racheting.

For polymeric materials, my current research efforts are focused on nonlinear transient phenomena in reversible polymeric gels and glassy thin films.  We try to understand how macroscopic response is encoded in the structure and dynamics at the microscopic level.  For biological systems, they are aimed at modeling mitochondrial structure, function, and dynamics.

        Course information:

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        Curriculum Vitae:

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                          COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER

                 this page last updated: 1/31/00