Gareth Alexander

Postdoctoral Fellow - University of Pennsylvania


Research

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Soft Matter Theory group at the University of Pennsylvania, working with Prof Randall Kamien.

Since arriving at Penn, my research has focused primarily on problems in smectic liquid crystals. I spend most of my time thinking about the wonderful properties of chiral smectics and their analogies with superconductors and blue phases, and contemplating the correct way to view defects in smectics and other systems with spontaneously broken translational symmetry. I am lucky to have Sabetta and Bryan to help me out with these problems when I inevitably become confused. My previous research in liquid crystals focused on blue phases and a little on the dynamics of umbilic defects, both of which I retain an active interest in.

During my DPhil I cultivated an enduring love affair with fluid dynamics through my research on low Reynolds number motility. The specific focus of my work was on the hydrodynamic interactions between simple model microswimmers and how many of the results could be understood in terms of symmetry and the kinematic reversibility of Stokes flows. Here at Penn, I am starting to think about the fluid dynamics of actin based motility with the help of Andrea Liu and Ed Banigan.