We use statistical mechanics and computational physics to investigate materials with structural and dynamical complexity, from model amorphous solids, gels and glasses, to new green formulations of cement.
Our primary focus is to identify the microstructural underpinnings of the strongly non-linear and dynamical response of complex materials to the external environment, in contexts that are relevant to their functions. For those materials, in fact, the mechanistic link between possible microstructural changes and the emerging functional properties is far from being established and constitutes one of the most exciting frontiers of current research. The hallmark of our work is the spatio-temporal characterization of dynamical and microstructural features underlying the mechanical behavior of complex materials, in close collaboration with experimentalists.
