Research Expertise and Interest

statistical mechanics, active matter, biophysics, physical chemistry, polymer science, directed self-assembly

Research Description

Ahmad Omar is an assistant professor in the Department of Material Science and Engineering.  The Omar Group's research aims to advance our theoretical understanding of both natural and synthetic soft condensed matter systems. They leverage the tools of statistical mechanics, continuum mechanics and computer simulation to bridge microscopic details with the emergent properties and phenomena displayed by these systems. They current interests are diverse – ranging from the nonequilibrium phase behavior and dynamics of active colloids and driven polymers to understanding the self-assembly pathways of complex phases. The unifying theme in these seemingly disparate areas is the significance of both conservative and nonconservative (e.g., hydrodynamic, active) forces in shaping the underlying dynamic landscape and material properties. They endeavor to investigate this interplay of thermodynamic and dissipative forces by utilizing and devising simulation and analytical techniques at the coarse-grained length and time scales of interest. Moreover, they aim to study systems that have clear connections to experiments and venture to make meaningful and experimentally verifiable predictions.