I am a soft condensed matter experimentalist, and my lab’s focus is to understand, characterize, and control soft materials. Soft materials, such as gels, pastes, and suspensions, are completely disordered, highly nonlinear, and fundamentally out-of-equilibrium; to understand these materials requires the development of new insights and innovative techniques. In my work, I use emergent structure formation as a powerful new tool to probe soft materials. Exploring a diversity of materials is central to my lab's science; we identify model systems for complex soft materials, and then exploit their simplicity to understand complex material response.
Group members
Kaffy Aderibigbe
lab intern
project: non-newtonian splashing
Kaffy Aderibigbe is a rising senior at Evanston Township High School.
She hopes to major in neuroscience and cognitive science in college. This summer,
she is interning in the Driscoll Physics Lab to research drop impact on complex fluids
and how carbopol bends and breaks using the high speed camera and microscopy. Outside
of the lab, she enjoys reading fiction novels, writing, and working on puzzles.
Pamud Akalanka Bethmage
graduate researcher
project: microrollers in confinement
pamud.akalanka@u.northwestern.edu
Akalanka received his Bachelor's in Physics from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Currently, his interests lie in the field of experimental soft matter physics & fluid dynamics. Previously, he did research on simulating magnetic reconnection models in a resistive MHD framework. Outside of work he likes spending time with his family and exploring the city.
Isabella Brady-Peters
undergraduate researcher
project: colloidal films
isabellabrady-peters2028@u.northwestern.edu
Isabella is an undergraduate Integrated Science and Physics double major in the class of 2028. She is a member of Reflections Repertory Company, a ballet focused group on campus. In her free time she enjoys reading and listening to music.
Charlie Burton
graduate researcher website
project: drop impact of complex fluids
charlesburton2028@u.northwestern.edu
Charlie graduated with BAs in physics and neuroscience from Earlham College. Afterwards, he worked as a researcher at Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, where he studied translational models of Alzheimer's Disease. At Northwestern, he is currently interested in experimental soft matter, particularly drop impact dynamics. In his free time, he loves running, frisbee, exploring Chicago and reading a good fantasy novel.
Carly graduated with a BA in Physics from Northwestern University, after which she worked
with microtubule-based active matter at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She
is now continuing her study of rupture dynamics in expanding sheets and thin films of complex
fluid. Outside of work, she trains at the Evanston School of Ballet.
Shankhadeep received his BS–MS degree in Physics from IISER Kolkata, India. His research focuses on the impact dynamics
and drying behavior of droplets containing anisotropic colloids, as well as the dynamics of ferrofluid suspensions under
tunable magnetic fields. This work encompasses phenomena such as deformation, instability, and directed transport. Beyond
his scientific pursuits, he holds a deep appreciation for the arts and actively engages in painting as a hobby.
Mireya Maiewski
lab intern
project: non-newtonian splashing
Mireya Maiewski is a rising senior at Evanston Township High School and is hoping to go to college and major in Chemistry.
She is currently interning in the Driscoll lab for the summer focusing on research for how carbopol bends and breaks by using
high speed photography and microscopy. Outside of the lab, she caddies at the Evanston Golf Club and plays piano
at the Bienen School of Music.
David Yu
undergraduate researcher
project: gel fracture
davidyu2029@u.northwestern.edu
David (Zhiyi) is an undergraduate majoring in Integrated Science and Physics in the class of 2029. He is a member of Undergraduate International Student Advancement Council and Crescendo for a Cause, In his free time he enjoys playing piano, tennis and Geoguessr.
Group Alumni
Postdoctoral Alums
Shih-Yuan Chen, current position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Cheng Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
Brendan Blackwell, current position: Teaching Faculty, Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Srishti Arora, current position: Postdoctoral Researcher, González-García Elektrofluide group at INM
Ernest van der Wee, current position: Microscopy Specialist, Biology Imaging Center, Biology, Utrecht University
PhD Alums
Phalguni Shah, current position: Research Engineer at PPG (Pittsburgh, PA)
Masters Alums
Samira Khan
Brian Seper
Xinjue Wei, current position: Ph.D student, Northwestern University, Marko group
Joseph McCourt, current position: Postdoctoral Appointee, Argonne National Laboratory
Undergraduate Alums
Abby Pearson
Audra Rosenzweig
Sam Nielsen, current position: PhD student, Physics, Brandeis University
Chloe Fisher, current position: Masters student, Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie
Carly Galvin, current position: PhD student, Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern
Kevin Liu
Desta Tewabe, current position: Masters Student, Materials Engineering, USC
Aryeh Silver, Masters student, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University
Ivan Fithian, current position: Development Engineer, Delorean Power (Arlington, VA)
Kelsey Ann-Leslie, current position: Research Engineer at Pykus Therapeutics (Lowell, MA)
Lily Boyd, current position: Teacher, Columbia Secondary School (New York, NY)
Malav Patel, current position: PhD student, Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Tech
Max Paik, current position: PhD student, Computer Science, NYU
Isaiah Katz, current position: PhD student, Statistics and Applied Probability, UC Santa Barbara
Orion Forowycz, current position: Masters Student, Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Vienna University of Technology
Gabriel Petersen
Yuchen Liu
Ravi Chepuri, current position: PhD student, Physics, University of Maryland
Margot Murray, current position: Associate, MultiPlan, New York, NY
Robert Doane-Solomon, current position: PhD student, Oxford
Samuel Kim
Research Intern Alums
Alondra Lagunilla (Summer 2025)
Nicole Saenz (Summer 2025)
Adriana Castelan (Summer 2024)
Tayyab Khan (Summer 2024)
Miguel Gomez (Summer 2024)
Addison Benz (Summer 2023)
Natalya Guiden (Summer 2023)
Raymundo Sandoval Valdez (Summer 2022)
Haneef Khan (Summer 2022)
Eleanor Ward (Summer 2019)
Max Shepherd (Summer 2019)
Max Baliga (Summer 2018)
Michael Frim (Summer 2018)
John Idler (Summer 2018)
Ananya Visweswaran (2018)
orcid.org/0000-0002-0930-9579 
