Welcome to the SOC&SAM group web page

We investigate soft matter and biophysical systems from a physicochemical point of view. Soft condensed materials are characterized by their labile nature, or ‘fragility’ in the sense used by Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, their responsiveness, and their intrinsic self-assembled, commonly hierarchical, structures. Soft materials raise permanently renewed basic interest, and are of highly importance, both from a technological standpoint, and as the fundamental constituents of biological matter. Our aim is to cover from the most classical fields represented by surfactants, liquid crystals, and colloidal dispersions up to active matter systems in cell based environments. Biological systems and processes are also of our interest, and we conduct research in the fields of biomembranes, metabolic and cell signaling networks, and collective behavior of cells. Our approach is multidisciplinary, benefiting from complementary expertise in Physics, Chemistry and Biology, and combines experimental (optical microscopy, spectroscopic techniques, Langmuir-Blodgettry), simulations (Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo-based methods) and theoretical modeling. We invite you to read more and know better our research, and we acknowledge in advance any of your comments.