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Soft Matter

Professor Michael Cates

  • 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

Local size segregation in polydisperse hard sphere fluids
I Pagonabarraga, ME Cates, GJ Ackland
– Physical Review Letters
(2000)
84,
911
(doi: 10.1103/physrevlett.84.911)
Aging and rheology in soft materials
SM Fielding, P Sollich, ME Cates
– Journal of Rheology
(2000)
44,
323
(doi: 10.1122/1.551088)
Orientation fluctuation-induced spinodal decompositions in polymer/liquid crystal mixtures
A Matsuyama, RML Evans, ME Cates
– STATISTICAL PHYSICS
(2000)
519,
220
(link to publication)
Jamming and static stress transmission in granular materials
ME Cates, JP Wittmer, J-P Bouchaud, P Claudin
– Chaos
(1999)
9,
511
(doi: 10.1063/1.166456)
Colloid-polymer mixtures at triple coexistence: Kinetic maps from free-energy landscapes
WCK Poon, F Renth, RML Evans, DJ Fairhurst, ME Cates, PN Pusey
– Physical Review Letters
(1999)
83,
1239
(doi: 10.1103/physrevlett.83.1239)
Diffusion and rheology in a model of glassy materials
RML Evans, ME Cates, P Sollich
– European Physical Journal B
(1999)
10,
705
(doi: 10.1007/s100510050902)
3D Spinodal Decomposition in the Inertial Regime
VM Kendon, J-C Desplat, P Bladon, ME Cates
– Physical Review Letters
(1999)
83,
576
(doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.576)
Structure and rheology of composite soft solids: Particles in lamellar phases
J Arrault, WCK Poon, ME Cates
– Physical Review E Statistical Physics Plasmas Fluids and Related Interdisciplinary Topics
(1999)
59,
3242
(doi: 10.1103/physreve.59.3242)
Spinodal decomposition in the viscous hydrodynamic regime
SI Jury, P Bladon, S Krishna, ME Cates
– STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF MATERIALS IN THE MESOSCOPIC DOMAIN
(1999)
37
(link to publication)
Flow behaviour of entangled surfactant micelles
ME Cates
– Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
(1999)
8,
9167
(doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/8/47/006)
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Research Group

Soft Matter

Room

G1.08

Telephone

01223 337912

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Research at Cambridge