The Physics of Soft Matter (PhySM) lab is part of the Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter group at Wageningen University and Research.

We are a curiosity-driven bunch who like to study the hydrodynamical aspects of soft matter and biophysics. We are particularly interested in key fundamental questions in both natural phenomena and industrial applications. To tackle them, we transform them into lab-scale bench-top experiments, and theoretical and/or numerical modeling exercises, and identify routes towards solutions.

We are affiliated with the JM Burgerscentrum national research school for fluid mechanics, the SoftComp EU network of excellence, and the GreenTE consortium on exploring the role of mechanical forces in plant cell development.

Our pursuit of science happens to come from a position of privilege, and we are aware that not everyone is exposed to the same kind of opportunities. We strive for equity, diversity, and inclusion as a team. Openly accessible education is one of our core principles. We exclusively use open-access software for teaching and research, and all our research data is also openly accessible. Most of our research is publicly-funded, which means that we also feel obliged to let the public know what we are doing with their support, which we try to achieve with our outreach activities.

We are enthralled by science, and do keep ourselves occupied with the pursuit of a scientific career. But that is not all that we do; there’s a lot more going on in our lives besides our scientific endeavours.

NEWS

inspired by our recent article on spontaneous self-emulsification of multicomponent droplets

  • Jul ‘25 — We are awarded a NWO-ENW-M1 grant to study emergent non-equilibrium dynamics of colloidal populations at fluid-fluid interfaces.

  • Jul ‘25 — We are awarded a NWO-ENW-XS grant to study climate change-induced stresses on marine microbial populations.

  • Jul ‘25 — We are awarded a NWO KIC-S grant to study spatiotemporal complexities in multicomponent fluids.

  • Jul ‘25 — Udo gives a talk on “Anomalous dynamics in confined evaporation of salty solutions” at the Droplets conference in Liège.

  • Jun ‘25 — We co-organize the 33rd edition of the Han-sur-Lesse Winterschool (in summer) on soft matter and biophysics.

  • Jan ‘25 — Mani gives a talk on “Capillary evaporation of salty solutions: to diffuse or to creep?” at the annual NWO Physics conference at Veldhoven.