Particle Coarse-Graining
We explore coarse-graining for particulate systems.
Rotationally driven active matter
Particles driven to motion self-organize like schools of fish, flocks of birds, or bacteria. Research efforts to create matter from such ‘active’ particles involves biopolymers and self-propelled colloids. In general, one distinguishes active matter with an internal energy source from that set into motion by an external field. Our work in this field focuses on particles that interact mechanically like gears and transfer energy input from rotation to translation. We observed phase separation of gears driven in opposite direction and super-diffusive motion along interfaces. Experiments with 3d-printed vibrots confirm the simulation predictions. We demonstrated the existence of self-organizing stable vortices called rotelles.
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Christian Scholz, Anton Ldov, Thorsten Pöschel, Michael Engel, Hartmut Löwen
Surfactants and Rotelles in Active Chiral Fluids
Science Advances 7, abf8998 (2021) -
Christian Scholz, Michael Engel, Thorsten Pöschel
Rotating Robots Move Collectively and Self-Organize
Nature Communications 9, 931 (2018) -
Matthew Spellings, Michael Engel, Daphne Klotsa, Syeda Sabrina, Aaron M. Drews, Nguyen H. P. Nguyen, Kyle J. M. Bishop, Sharon C. Glotzer
Shape Control and Compartmentalization in Active Colloidal Cells
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, E4642-E4650 (2015) -
Nguyen H. P. Nguyen, Daphne Klotsa, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Emergent Collective Phenomena in a Mixture of Hard Shapes through Active Rotation
Physical Review Letters 112, 075701 (2014)

Phase behavior of polyhedral particles
Predicting structure from the attributes of a material’s building blocks is a central goal for materials science. Isolating the role of building block shape provides insight into the ordering of molecules and the crystallization of colloids, nanoparticles, proteins, and viruses. We have been systematically investigating the self-assembly of convex polyhedra. Our results demonstrate a remarkably high propensity for self-assembly and structural diversity. Notable discoveries are the discovery of a quasicrystal from tetrahedra and many more liquid crystals, plastic crystals, and crystals.
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Kwanghwi Je, Sangmin Lee, Erin G. Teich, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Entropic Formation of a Thermodynamically Stable Colloidal Quasicrystal with Negligible Phason Strain
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2011799118 (2021) -
Pablo F. Damasceno, Andrew S. Karas, Benjamin A. Schultz, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Controlling Chirality of Entropic Crystals
Physical Review Letters 115, 158303 (2015) -
Benjamin A. Schultz, Pablo F. Damasceno, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Symmetry Considerations for the Targeted Assembly of Entropically Stabilized Colloidal Crystals via Voronoi Particles
ACS Nano 9, 2336-2344 (2015) -
Pablo F. Damasceno, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Predictive Self-Assembly of Polyhedra into Complex Structures
Science 337, 453-457 (2012) -
Amir Haji-Akbari, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Degenerate Quasicrystal of Hard Triangular Bipyramids
Physical Review Letters 107, 215702 (2011) -
Amir Haji-Akbari, Michael Engel, Sharon C. Glotzer
Phase Diagram of Hard Tetrahedra
Journal of Chemical Physics 135, 194101 (2011) -
Amir Haji-Akbari, Michael Engel, Aaaron S. Keys, Xiaoyu Zheng, Rolfe G. Petschek, Peter Palffy-Muhoray, Sharon C. Glotzer
Disordered, Quasicrystalline and Crystalline Phases of Densely Packed Tetrahedra
Nature 462, 773-777 (2009)
