The current research in the Dorfman group focuses on topics in polymer physics, microfluidics and biotechnology. Our work is highly collaborative, both within the University of Minnesota and beyond, and takes advantage of major shared resources at the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute and Minnesota Nanofabrication Center.
Simulations of polymer phase behavior and dynamics: We are interested in several different aspects of block polymer thermodynamics, involving both self-consistent field theory and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, and often in collaboration with experimental groups at Minnesota. Recent work focused on the emergence of complex particle packings, known as Frank-Kasper phases, and understanding micelle dynamics in solution and in the melt. Ongoing research is pursuing routes towards network phase formation in block polymer thin films, the molecular mechanisms of compatibilizers for polymer recycling, and computation-driven discovery of novel nanostructures via self-assembly.
Recent Collaborators: Frank Bates, Chris Ellison, David Morse, Zhen-Gang Wang (Caltech)
Confined DNA: We have a longstanding interest in understanding how DNA behaves in confinement. Prior large-scale efforts focused on DNA electrophoresis in post arrays, for size-based separations, and the physics of DNA confined in a nanochannel, which is used for genome mapping. Ongoing work focuses on DNA organization in bacteria, trying to determine what parts of that organization emerge from physical principles and what parts are of biological origin. This work involves both simulations of models of the bacteria nucleoid and biophysical experiments in microfluidic devices.
Recent Collaborators: Xiang Cheng