David W.M. Marr
Professor & Department Head
Research Description
The controlled assembly of colloidal particles has received significant attention in recent years because of their potential application as nano- and micro-structured materials. To vary their structure and behavior, we employ external fields, including applied time-varying electromagnetic, electric, and magnetic fields. One technique that we use to great extent is optical trapping in which a focused laser is used to manipulate individual colloidal particles, as well as a “tractor beam” like approach where the laser is used to control large numbers of colloids simultaneously. Funded in recent years by the NIH, NSF and NASA for microfluidic applications, our goal is the creation of technologically relevant colloidal-based structures including micron-scale devices such as pumps and valves, photonic materials, and optical-based separators and stretchers for manipulation and detection of individual cells for bioanalysis.