Active Nematic Colloids As Microrobots for Materials Assembly

I am honored to speak in this session dedicated to Dennis Prieve and Eli Ruckenstein who opened new avenues for study in the realm of colloidal science.

We have developed active colloids in nematic liquid crystals as microrobots for materials manipulation. Colloid shape and surface chemistry can generate long-ranged emergent interactions in quasi-static settings. Furthermore, the non-linear response of the nematic fluid host allows interactions that differ strikingly in range and form from their static counterparts. Colloid dynamic displacement can introduce defects whose dynamics generate new modalities of motion and interaction. These interactions provide a rich toolkit for assembly and open important fundamental questions regarding far from equilibrium topological defects, some of which are described in this talk.