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  • 2015-date: Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
  • 2007-2022: Royal Society Research Professor
  • 1995-2015: Professor of Natural Philosophy, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
  • 1992-1995: University Lecturer, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
  • 1989-1992: University Assistant Lecturer, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
  • 1988-1989: Royal Society University Research Fellow, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
  • 1985-1995: Junior Research Fellow (1985-1989), Teaching Fellow (1990-1995), Trinity College Cambridge

Research

Mike is a member of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. He heads the Soft Matter research group. His current research interests include: flow of colloids, polymers, emulsions, gels and other soft materials; shear-thickening and rheology in dense suspensions; dynamics of soft glasses; flow of liquid crystals; general theories of active matter; cellular locomotion; phase ordering in active and passive systems; statistical mechanics of active particles; and numerous other topics. He recently completed an ERC Advanced Grant called ADNeSP: Active and Driven Systems, Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics.

Prizes and Awards

  • 2021: International Member, US National Academy of Sciences
  • 2019: International Member, US National Academy of Engineering
  • 2016: Bingham Medal, US Society of Rheology
  • 2013: Weissenberg Award, European Society of Rheology
  • 2009: Dirac Medal and Prize, Institute of Physics
  • 2009: Gold Medal, British Society of Rheology
  • 2007: Fellow of the Royal Society (London)
  • 2005: Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • 1996: Fellow of the Institute of Physics
  • 1994: Prix Franco-Britannique (Paris Academy of Sciences)
  • 1991: Maxwell Prize and Medal, Institute of Physics

Publications

Patchy colloids: Entropy stabilizes open crystals
ME Cates
– Nature materials
(2013)
12,
179
When are active Brownian particles and run-and-tumble particles equivalent? Consequences for motility-induced phase separation
ME Cates, J Tailleur
– Epl
(2013)
101,
20010
Modeling the relaxation of polymer glasses under shear and elongational loads
SM Fielding, RL Moorcroft, RG Larson, ME Cates
– The Journal of Chemical Physics
(2013)
138,
12A504
Facilitated Diffusion on Mobile DNA: Configurational Traps and Sequence Heterogeneity
CA Brackley, ME Cates, D Marenduzzo
– Physical Review Letters
(2012)
109,
168103
Delayed solidification of soft glasses: New experiments, and a theoretical challenge
YM Joshi, A Shahin, ME Cates
– Faraday Discussions
(2012)
158,
313
Bulk rheology and microrheology of active fluids
G Foffano, JS Lintuvuori, AN Morozov, K Stratford, ME Cates, D Marenduzzo
– European Physical Journal E
(2012)
35,
98
First-principles constitutive equation for suspension rheology
JM Brader, ME Cates, M Fuchs
– Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys
(2012)
86,
021403
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in active droplets provides a generic route to motility
E Tjhung, D Marenduzzo, ME Cates
– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2012)
109,
12381
Colloids in active fluids: anomalous microrheology and negative drag.
G Foffano, JS Lintuvuori, K Stratford, ME Cates, D Marenduzzo
– Physical Review Letters
(2012)
109,
028103
Size limit for particle-stabilized emulsion droplets under gravity
JW Tavacoli, G Katgert, EG Kim, ME Cates, PS Clegg
– Physical Review Letters
(2012)
108,
268306
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Research Group

Soft Matter

Room

G1.08

Telephone

01223 337912