Professor Brigitte Städler and Associate Professor Christian Pascal Hirsch have received DKK 3.99 million for the project “Can Active Colloids Have Collective Behavior?”.

Nanobots, propelled by converting energy sources into kinetic energy, surpass Brownian motion but face challenges due to gaps in fundamental understanding and a lack of design predictability, resulting in low-energy and less controllable nanobots. The question arises of whether artificial systems can swarm like nature's ensemble, posing a challenging inquiry into the condensation of colloidal populations. The project hypothesizes that interparticle forces play a crucial role in enabling collective motion in a nanobot ensemble. The primary research goal is to experimentally manipulate these forces through dynamic control over polymer brushes, employing a mathematical model to explain swarming phenomena and identify predictive design criteria for nanobots by combining experimental and theoretical data.

The project not only provides interdisciplinary experience for two postdoctoral researchers but also fosters collaboration between different faculty departments, potentially inspiring further research collaborations within the academic community.

The Villum Synergy programme focuses on strengthening data-driven interdisciplinary research. The Grants are awarded to projects that combine data research – statistics, computer science or applied mathematics – with disciplines from the natural sciences, the technical sciences, the humanities, or the social sciences.

Read more about the programme and this year’s recipients here

Contact information:

Professor Brigitte Städler
Aarhus University
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO)
Email: bstadler@inano.au.dk

Associate Professor Christian Pascal Hirsch
Aarhus University
Department of Mathematics
Email: hirsch@math.au.dk