Research summary
Soft materials (such as polymers) and interfaces (such as those in emulsions) are everywhere in our modern lives. For example, soft materials are used to make pharmaceutical products, enable flexible robotics and electronics, and facilitate human-machine interfacing. Meanwhile, solid-solid, liquid-liquid and solid-liquid interfaces are crucial in the manufacture of adhesives and drug and cosmetic suspensions. But their performance is complex—determined by both interactions between molecules at the microscopic scale and their collective behaviours that render macroscopic functions.
As Canada Research Chair in Multi-scale Modeling of Soft Materials and Interfaces, Dr. Tian Tang is working toward the systematic design of advanced soft materials with desired bulk and interfacial properties. To do this, she and her research team are developing theoretical models, methods and tools that allow for multi-scale material characterization. This, in turn, will enable modulation of the material behavior through microscopic precise engineering.