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Photonic crystals provide an extremely powerful toolset for manipulation of optical dispersion and density of states. Princeton researchers' recent work opens exciting prospects for engineering long-range spin models in the circuit QED architecture, and new opportunities for dissipative quantum state engineering.

Electricity is the flow of charged particles through a material, such as a wire — a process that resembles a river of water molecules flowing through a canyon. But are the charged particles positive or negative?

The goal of this seed project is to bring first-principles theory closer to experimental reality.

New model systems of liquid protein assemblies offer insights into naturally-occurring counterparts.

In Through the Looking Glass, Alice steps through a mirror into a world in which everything is its mirror image. Realizing that writing in books is reversed, Alice wonders what has happened on the atomic scale. 

Probing and manipulating electronic band structures of 2D materials.

Building complex three-dimensional (3D) materials from pre-programmed two-dimensional films presents exciting challenges and opportunities. To achieve this goal, researchers inspired by the paper folding techniques of origami and kirigami have successfully utilized the mechanical instabilities of thin films, such as buckling.

Hybrid cell-like vesicles were prepared by coassembling (glyco)dendrimersomes with bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) derived from E. Coli. These assemblies incorporated transmembrane proteins such as the small fusion protein MgrB tagged with a red fluorescent protein, and glycoconjugates such as lipopolysaccharides and glycoproteins from E. Coli. In future work, coassembly of (glyco)dendrimersomes with mammalian including human cell membranes will be a focus with the goal of developing new systems for biomedical application. Broader Impact

At the smallest length scales, disordered systems such as nanoparticle packings and glass resemble the grains of sand on a beach. Lacking a structure, it is very difficult to understand how they deform and flow. We use a technique called atomic force microscopy, in which a sharp probe “feels” and pokes at a sample to measure its shape and mechanical properties. We are able to investigate at the length scale of a single particle.

Penn-COMPASS Partnership: IRG4/Solvay/CNRS IRG-4 creates new forms of matter by assembling nanometer-sized crystals into large, ordered, complex assemblies (nanocrystal superlattices.  Murray (IRG-4) and Donnio (CNRS) have synthesized a library of molecules (polycatenars) that enable new kinds of nanocrystals and superlattices. Broader Impact Lego Optics Lab @GEMS Summer Camp The Kagan (IRG-4) group created a Lego Optics lab for Penn’s Girls in Engineering, Math and Science (GEMS) summer camp for 6th-8th grade girls.