Ivan Smalyukh

Ivan I Smalyukh
Born (1972-07-07) July 7, 1972
Lviv, Ukraine
Alma materLviv Polytechnic National University (B.S.,M.S. 1995)
Kent State University (Ph.D., 2003)
Known forHopfions
Heliknotons[1]
Toron[2]
Topological colloids[3]
Topological soliton
Transparent aerogels[4]
Monoclinic and Orthorhombic Liquid crystals[5]
Möbiuson[6]
Biaxial ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids[7]
Knotted chiral meta matter paradigm[8]
Scientific career
FieldsCondensed Matter Physics
WorkplacesUniversity of Colorado Boulder
WPI-SKCM2[9]
Websitehttps://www.colorado.edu/soft-matter-physics/

Ivan I. Smalyukh is a physicist working in the fields of soft condensed matter physics, especially in the domain of liquid crystals, topology, chirality and metamaterials. He is a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the founding director of the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter [10] with headquarters at Hiroshima University.[11] He is the Chief Editor of a Nature-family NPJ Soft Matter journal. [12] Smalyukh was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, among many other awards. He and his research group hold the Guinness record for achieving the highest visible-range optical transparency in a material.[13]


Research

Smalyukh's scientific interests span various aspects of soft condensed matter and optical physics.[14] This includes the study of laser trapping and imaging techniques, molecular and colloidal self-assembly, and the fundamental properties of materials such as liquid crystals,[6][15] polymers, and nano-structured substances. Among many of Smalyukh's research interests is the energy efficiency of windows and building envelopes overall. Additionally, the photonic and electro-optic applications of these materials are his group's research interests.

As something that he is widely known for, Smalyukh has studied vortex knots and solitons[16][17] and knots[18][19][20] in liquid crystals, contributing to new methods to form microscopic knots in physical fields.

Smalyukh used cellulose nanofibres to develop a transparent and highly thermally insulating aerogel. This work was published in Nature Energy due to the material's potential to enhance the heat lost through windows.[4][21]

Biography

Smalyukh began his academic journey at Lviv Polytechnic National University in Ukraine, where he completed his Bachelor's and Master of Science degrees in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Furthering his education, he obtained his PhD in Chemical Physics from Kent State University in 2003.[22]

Following his PhD, Smalyukh held postdoctoral positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Liquid Crystal Institute and AlphaMicron Inc. Between 2004 and 2006, he also worked as a Visiting Scientist at the Institute for Lasers, Photonics, & Biophotonics at SUNY at Buffalo.

In 2007, Smalyukh joined the Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor.[23] By 2014, he was an Associate Professor with tenure in the same department. In 2017, he became a tenured full Professor in the Department of Physics. Additionally, Smalyukh holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is also a founding fellow of Renewable Sustainable Energy Institute (a joint institute of CU-Boulder and NREL) and Materials Science Engineering Program.[23] He directs the Soft Matter Physics Research Group at CU-Boulder.[23] He was the Founding Director of the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (SKCM2), hosted by Hiroshima University in Japan and is currently directing a Satellite odyssey SKCM2 at University of Colorado.[24]

Throughout his career, Smalyukh has received many awards, including such as the Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research of the American Physical Society in 2016,[22] Langmuir Lectureship Award of the American Chemical Society in 2021,[25] and the ICMS Distinguished Scholar award from the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems at Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands in 2022. He also received awards like the Bessel and Glenn Brown Awards, NASA iTech award and Mid-Career Award of International Liquid Crystal Society and the PECASE Award from the Office of Science and Technology of the White House.

Smalyukh has also been actively involved in the scientific community. He has organized and participated in conferences and workshops, such as the 2019 Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals at the University of New England and the Kickoff Symposium on Knotted Chiral Meta Matter in Hiroshima, Japan, in 2023. He has published over 250 peer-refereed articles, including many in Nature and Science.[26] He has also been a member of editorial boards for several international journals. He is an elected fellow of several international societies, including American Association for Advancement of Science, AAAS,[27] American Physical Society (APS),[22] Optica,[28] and SPIE.[29]


References

  1. ↑ Tai, Jung-Shen B.; Ivan I., Smalyukh (27 September 2019). "Three-dimensional crystals of adaptive knots" (PDF). Science. 365 (6460): 1449–1453. arXiv:1911.09160. Bibcode:2019Sci...365.1449T. doi:10.1126/science.aay1638. PMID 31604273.
  2. ↑ Smalyukh, Ivan I.; Lansac, Yves; Clark, Noel A.; Trivedi, Rahul P. (February 2010). "Three-dimensional structure and multistable optical switching of triple-twisted particle-like excitations in anisotropic fluids". Nature Materials. 9 (2): 139–145. Bibcode:2010NatMa...9..139S. doi:10.1038/nmat2592. PMID 19966792.
  3. ↑ Senyuk, Bohdan; Liu, Qingkun; He, Sailing; Kamien, Randall D.; Kusner, Robert B.; Lubensky, Tom C.; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (10 January 2013). "Topological colloids". Nature. 493 (7431): 200–205. arXiv:1612.08753. Bibcode:2013Natur.493..200S. doi:10.1038/nature11710. PMID 23263182.
  4. 1 2 Abraham, Eldho; Cherpak, Vladyslav; Senyuk, Bohdan; Ten Hove, Jan Bart; Lee, Taewoo; Liu, Qingkun; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (2023). "Highly transparent silanized cellulose aerogels for boosting energy efficiency of glazing in buildings". Nature Energy. 8 (4): 381–396. Bibcode:2023NatEn...8..381A. doi:10.1038/s41560-023-01226-7. S2CID 257588403.
  5. ↑ Mundoor, Haridas; Wu, Jin-Sheng; Wensink, Henricus H.; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (11 February 2021). "Thermally reconfigurable monoclinic nematic colloidal fluids" (PDF). Nature. 590 (7845): 268–274. Bibcode:2021Natur.590..268M. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03249-0. PMID 33568825.
  6. 1 2 Zhao, Hanqing; Tai, Jung-Shen B.; Wu, Jin-Sheng; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (2023). "Liquid crystal defect structures with Möbius strip topology". Nature Physics. 19 (3): 451–459. Bibcode:2023NatPh..19..451Z. doi:10.1038/s41567-022-01851-1. S2CID 255896584.
  7. ↑ Liu, Qingkun; Ackerman, Paul J.; Lubensky, Tom C.; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (September 6, 2016). "Biaxial ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids". PNAS. 113 (38): 10479–10484. Bibcode:2016PNAS..11310479L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1601235113. PMC 5035882. PMID 27601668.
  8. ↑ "About". International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter, Hiroshima University.
  9. ↑ "People". International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter, Hiroshima University.
  10. ↑ https://wpi-skcm2.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
  11. ↑ "WPI Centers". Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI).
  12. ↑ "npj Soft Matter".
  13. ↑ "Most transparent material". Guinness World Records Limited.
  14. ↑ Meng, Cuiling; Wu, Jin-Sheng; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (2023). "Topological steering of light by nematic vortices and analogy to cosmic strings". Nature Materials. 22 (1): 64–72. Bibcode:2023NatMa..22...64M. doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01414-y. OSTI 2341907. PMID 36456872. S2CID 254150516.
  15. ↑ "Liquid crystal research, future applications advance". Phys.org. December 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ Zyga, Lisa Zyga (February 7, 2017). "Never-before-seen topological solitons experimentally realized in liquid crystals". Phys.org.
  17. ↑ Poy, Guilhem; Hess, Andrew J.; Seracuse, Andrew J.; Paul, Michael; Žumer, Slobodan; Smalyukh, Ivan I. (2022). "Interaction and co-assembly of optical and topological solitons" (PDF). Nature Photonics. 16 (6): 454. Bibcode:2022NaPho..16..454P. doi:10.1038/s41566-022-01002-1. S2CID 249222780.
  18. ↑ University of Colorado at Boulder (September 29, 2019). "How to Tie Microscopic Knots Within Liquid Crystals". SciTechDaily.
  19. ↑ "3D knots appear in liquid crystals". Physics World.
  20. ↑ Crane, Leah (26 September 2019). "A strange new type of crystal is made of fluid tied into knots". New Scientist.
  21. ↑ Wilkins, Alex (16 March 2023). "Windows filled with see-through wood layer help hold in heat". New Scientist.
  22. 1 2 3 "2016 recipient, Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research". Honors and award winners. American Physical Society (APS).
  23. 1 2 3 "Ivan I. Smalyukh". Soft Matter Physics Smalyukh Research Group. University of Colorado at Boulder.
  24. ↑ "Organization and Administration". International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter, Hiroshima University.
  25. ↑ Anderson, Marcus (14 July 2021). "2021 Langmuir Lectureship Award Winners Announced". American Chemical Society.
  26. ↑ "Ivan I. Smalyukh - Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). spot.colorado.edu. University of Colorado at Boulder.
  27. ↑ "2024 AAAS Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)".
  28. ↑ "Elected Fellows". Optica.
  29. ↑ "Complete list of SPIE Fellows". SPIE.
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