NASA Logo Soft and Complex Condensed Matter Workshop The National Center for Microgravity Research

March 6, 2003
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Austin, Texas

Hosted by the Microgravity Science Division
NASA Glenn Research Center

And

The National Center for Microgravity Research for Fluids and Combustion



Workshop Objective

During the past decade, NASA has been a leading U.S. supporter of soft and complex condensed matter research. Experiments in space shuttles, MIR, the International Space Station (ISS), as well as ground-based research have provided new insights into several areas including hard sphere colloids, crystal growth, phase ordering and transport of complex fluids at the critical point. To help define the next generation of flight experiments needed to answer remaining important questions in the field of soft and complex condensed matter, NASA s Office of Biological and Physical Science sponsored a workshop on Soft and Complex Condensed Matter March 6, 2003. This workshop asked leading members in the field of Soft and Complex Condensed Matter (at the APS March Meeting) to help identify exciting unanswered questions in the field, along with specific research topics for which the absence of gravity would enable significant results unobtainable by other means. During the workshop the following questions were put forward to initiate discussion and ideas:

  1. What are the significant open questions in soft and complex condensed matter?
  2. What new directions are opening up for research in soft and complex condensed matter?
  3. Which, if any, of these research topics can benefit from using a microgravity laboratory such as the International Space Station?
  4. Of those that can benefit from microgravity, what is the level of significance of the results?
  5. What instrumentation is required to generate the desired results?


Workshop Details

Paul Chaikin (Princeton) and Sidney Nagel (U. Chicago), who co-chaired the workshop, compiled the following very readable workshop report on research topics in Soft and Complex Condensed Matter.

This report is helping to define the next generation of flight experiments needed to answer remaining important questions in soft and complex condensed matter.

The workshop was attended by 24 participants from universities across the US and from five different countries (in addition to NASA GRC participants). Questions or comments can be directed to Dr. William Meyer at William.V.Meyer@grc.nasa.gov.

Attendee List (26 KB)

Workshop Report (2 MB)