Congratulations to Zory and Jan on their latest publication, "Orientational ordering benefits nanorod sonication", which went online today in Physical Review Materials! A work very long in the making, this is a systematic study of the interplay between sonication and ordering in suspensions of rods (in particular, the cellulose nanocrystals we use) and how phase transitions ultimately affect the behavior of the suspensions (even after returning to the "original" state).

The article is free to read (and download) online.

/LWH/

Congratulations to ESMP alumna Deniz Avşar and ESMP overlord Jan on their newest publication in Advanced Optical Materials, "Circularly Polarized Structural Color Pigments Tunable Across the Full Visible Spectrum"! In this work, inspired in part by jewel beetles, Deniz and Jan (though especially Deniz) explore the camouflaging of patterns sensitive to circular polarization by using cholesteric spherical reflectors. By color mixing and dye infusion, they achieved color combinations that are virtually invisible to the unaided eye, but become very apparent when viewed through circular polarizers (like some of the glasses used for watching 3D movies in 3D).

The article is open access and free to read; a great start to 2026.

/LWH/