Cheng Research Group

Soft materials — colloids, foams, sand, and swimming bacteria — flow in ways that one cannot predict from the behavior of individual particles. We’re an experimental research group at the University of Minnesota. We use a range of imaging techniques such as high-speed photography, confocal microscopy, and digital holography to visualize the flow of soft materials.

Our research bridges the gap between the behavior of individual particles and the dynamics of bulk soft materials. We seek to uncover the emergent flow behaviors of soft materials and understand the mesoscopic structures that give rise to them.

In particular, our research explores the dynamics and rheology of soft materials such as colloidal and active suspensions; biofluid mechanics of cell motility; fast fluid processes of drop impact; and physics of granular flow.

If you are interested in our research, feel free to contact our group members or visit our lab located at B3, B11, B43 and 470 Amundson Hall, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.