Living Matter
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Apply to join us as a PhD researcher or postdoc by submitting your full application through this link (deadline 15.5.2024):
Current Focus
- Swimming dynamics of micro- to mesoscale organisms
- Biomechanics of living materials, such as tiny plant roots and immune cells
- Wetting and capillary phenomena
Group members
Group Leader: Prof. Matilda Backholm
Click these links for my contact details and full researcher profile. My public CV is attached below.
Short bio
- Tenure-track Assistant Professor (2022–), Dept. of Applied Physics, Aalto University.
- Postdoc(2015–2017) and Academy of Finland postdoc (2017–2022), Aalto University.
- PhD in Physics, McMaster University, Canada (2015).
- MSc in Nanoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark (2011).
- BSc in Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland (2009).
Grants and awards (selection)
- ERC StG (2023), Research Council of Finland Research Fellowship (2023), grant from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (2023), the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Väisälä Starting Grant (2023), Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher (2017).
- Hannu Koskinen’s best presentation award at the Finnish Physics Days (2019), the Ruth and Nils-Erik Stenbäck Prize for career accomplishments in science (2017), the McMaster University School of Graduate Studies International Excellence Award (2012 and 2014).
Identifiers: ORCID, WoS, Google scholar
Funding
Prof. Backholm is currently funded by an ERC StG (2023), a Research Council of Finland Research Fellowship (2023), a grant from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (2023), and the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Väisälä Starting Grant (2023).
Research Highlights
- Toward vanishing droplet friction on repellent surfaces
M. Backholm*, T. Kärki, H. Nurmi, M. Vuckovac, V. Turkki, S. Lepikko, V. Jokinen, D. Quéré, J. V. I. Timonen, and R. H. A. Ras*
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (PNAS) 121, e2315214121 (2024). - Droplet slipperiness despite surface heterogeneity at molecular scale
S. Lepikko, Y. Morais Jaques, M. Junaid, M. Backholm, J. Lahtinen, J. Julin, V. Jokinen, T. Sajavaara, M. Sammalkorpi, A. S. Foster, and R. H. A. Ras
Nature Chemistry 16, 506-513 (2024). - Long-term stability of aerophilic metallic surfaces underwater
A. B. Tesler, S. Kolle, L. H. Prado, I. Thievessen, D. Böhringer, M. Backholm, B. Karunakaran, H. A. Nurmi, M. Latikka, L. Fischer, S. Stafslien, Z. M. Cenev, J. V. I. Timonen, M. Bruns, A. Mazare, U. Lohbauer, S. Virtanen, B. Fabry, P. Schmuki, R. H. A. Ras, J. Aizenberg, and W. H. Goldmann
Nature Materials 22, 1548–1555 (2023). - Water droplet friction and rolling dynamics on superhydrophobic surfaces
M. Backholm*, D. Molpeceres, M. Vuckovac, H. Nurmi, M. Hokkanen, V. Jokinen, J.V.I. Timonen, and R.H.A. Ras*
Communications Materials 1, 64(2020). - Viscosity-enhanced droplet motion in sealed superhydrophobic capillaries
M. Vuckovac, M. Backholm, J.V.I. Timonen, and R.H.A. Ras
Science Advances 6, eaba5197 (2020).
[Highlighted by 12 news outlets, such as Physics Today and Physics World.] - Micropipette force sensors for in vivo force measurements on single cells and multicellular microorganisms
M. Backholm*, and O. Bäumchen*
Nature Protocols 14, 594–615 (2019).
[Highlighted by 10 news outlets, including Science Daily, Phys.org, EurekAlert, ScienMag, TodayChan, and Göttinger Tageblatt] - Tangling of tethered swimmers: Interactions between two nematodes
M. Backholm, R. D. Schulman, W. S. Ryu, and K. Dalnoki-Veress
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 138101 (2014).
[Editor's Suggestion, Highlighted by PRL Editorial] - Viscoelastic properties of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a self-similar, shear-thinning worm
M. Backholm, W. S. Ryu, and K. Dalnoki-Veress
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (PNAS) 110, 4528-4533 (2013).
News
Physicists explain—and eliminate—unknown force dragging against water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces
Aalto University researchers adapt a novel force measurement technique to uncover the previously unidentified physics at play at the thin air-film gap between water droplets and superhydrophobic surfaces.
Tiny organisms, big discoveries: How swarming shrimp could influence a new wave of ‘mesorobotics’
Aalto researcher aims to understand the complex movement of brine shrimp—a gateway to physics on an unfamiliar scale
Funding granted for research into physics of microscopic plant roots
The aim is to create a new micromechanical tool to better understand how root mechanics arise from cells and how living materials like plant roots adapt to external stresses
In September, 15 new Academy Researcher Fellows will start at Aalto
The Academy of Finland has granted Aalto University funding for 15 Academy Research Fellowships
Measuring forces of living cells and microorganisms
Force sensors to study living cells and microorganisms with extraordinary precision
Professor Matilda Backholm: Between the micro and the macro
Driven by curiosity, new Department of Applied Physics professor Matilda Backholm studies the physics of the mesoscale.
All publications
Toward vanishing droplet friction on repellent surfaces
Light-triggered Time-Programmed Self-adhesion in Low-Hysteresis Hydrogels
Probing surface wetting across multiple force, length and time scales
Droplet slipperiness despite surface heterogeneity at molecular scale
Long-term stability of aerophilic metallic surfaces underwater
Force-Based Wetting Characterization of Stochastic Superhydrophobic Coatings at Nanonewton Sensitivity
Water droplet friction and rolling dynamics on superhydrophobic surfaces
Ferrofluid Microdroplet Splitting for Population-Based Microfluidics and Interfacial Tensiometry
Viscosity-enhanced droplet motion in sealed superhydrophobic capillaries
Micropipette force sensors for in vivo force measurements on single cells and multicellular microorganisms
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