Dr. Naomi Oppenheimer is interested in complex fluids, statistical mechanics, soft matter, and biology-inspired physical systems. She uses theoretical analytical tools, numerical simulations, and a dash of experiments.
Research achievements include: predicting the effect of protein concentration on membrane viscosity, understanding why crumpled paper is shapeable, and studying the hydroelastic effect of a particle surfing its own wave in a thin elastic sheet.
Future directions include: studying heterogeneous materials in biology and for next-generation functional materials. For example: self-organization properties of active rotating particles in a 2D fluid, the effective properties of complex fluids with spatially varying viscosity, morphogenesis and pattern formation in biological systems.
