Wouter Ellenbroek

Responsive Soft Matter

The Responsive Soft Matter group of Wouter Ellenbroek is devoted to theoretical research (including computer simulations) of responsive soft materials. Together with four other principal investigators (Kees Storm, Paul van der Schoot, Alexey Lyulin and Liesbeth Janssen), we form the Soft Matter and Biological Physics (SMB) group, which has strong ties with TU/e’s Institute for Complex Molecular Systems.

Research Profile

In the Responsive Soft Matter group, we study the formation and properties of soft materials, using various numerical and analytical tools. In many cases formation and properties cannot be seen independently from each other, as many soft materials have a dynamic structure that keeps evolving even long after the material was made.

Research Areas

Research impact

Reversibly Linked Materials

Our current focus is on polymeric materials with reversible crosslinks.

Research impact

Built-in stresses in Network Matter

From guitar strings and spider webs to edible gels, many materials owe a large part of their mechanical rigidity to the forces and stresses…

Research impact

New analysis techniques for Soft Matter experiments

One of my hobbies is to work with experimentalists on new techniques to analyze the wealth of experimental data that modern equipment…

Research impact

Designing unusual crystal formers

Many particles form regular structures, but some structures are harder to obtain than others.

Research impact

Electrostatic interactions in Soft Matter

Soft Materials often live in watery environments where pH and salt concentration are crucial to their behavior.

Research impact

Jamming

Packings of soft frictionless spheres are a widely used model for emulsions and even granulates.

Student Opportunities

There are always plenty of topics students can work on in our group, be it for a Final Bachelor Project (BEP), a M.Sc. graduation project, or an internship abroad.

Topics can range all across soft matter, and from abstract and mathematical to very concrete and directly related to ongoing experiments. Most projects will involve some amount of computer simulation work, but prior experience with this is not essential, and we can also define a more analytically oriented project.

For more information visit our Education webpage.

Meet some of our Researchers

Assistant Professor

Wouter Ellenbroek

Recent Publications

Our most recent peer reviewed publications

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