Physics of Soft and Partially Ordered Matter

Theory and Simulation Group

Our research explores selected topics in the general field of soft matter, especially,  focusing on complex soft materials, topology and geometry, active matter and bio-systems, soft- and bio-photonics, and their applications. Specifically, our main research topics include topological defects in soft matter, colloids and complex fluids, soft matter optics and photonics, active matter, dynamics of complex fluids, liquid crystal emulsions, protein aggregation in biopharmaceuticals, liquid crystal elastomers, interactions on spherical lattices and caloric effects in soft matter. The methodological approaches include macroscopic phenomenology, topology, and microscopic molecular modeling.

Latest News

Inside Front Cover of Advanced Optical Materials

February 2025 - The paper Liquid Crystal 3D Optical Waveguides Based on Photoalignment by Peter Ropač,  Yu-Tung Hsiao,  Brecht Berteloot,  Yera Ussembayev,  Inge Nys,  Miha Ravnik,  Kristiaan Neyts was featured on the inside front cover of Advanced Optical Materials. 


Back Cover of Soft Matter

January 2025 - The paper Nematic liquid crystal flow driven by time-varying active surface anchoring by Seyed Reza Seyednejad and Miha Ravnik was featured on the back cover of Soft Matter. 


Recent challenges in the mathematical design of new materials

August 2025 - Miha Ravnik co-organises a one-week workshop on Recent challenges in the mathematical design of new materials at Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge between 18 and 22 August 2025.