reconfigurable materials

Following up on the last post (December? Wow – sorry for the radio silence – things have been busy), I wanted to bring the special issue of Soft Matter on “Reconfigurable Soft Matter” to everyone’s attention.  This issue was masterfully edited by Anna Balazs and Joanna Aizenberg to contain a rich array of approaches to soft materials. One thing I find wonderful about the issue is the span from the macroscopic (see: Bioinspired self-shaping materials) to the microscopic (see: Microstructured membranes) to the molecular (see: UV-burstable microcapsules based on azobenzene).  Similarly, the issue spans what might be called “engineering approaches” to ones focused more on the fundamental physical sciences of such structures.  If you have interest in the field, I encourage you to take a look – the issue should serve for some time as a nice entry point into the field for newcomers, and as a “2014 status report” for those already embedded in the field.