Department of Chemistry

portrait of Professor Daan Frenkel ForMemRS

Professor Daan Frenkel ForMemRS

Trinity College

Groups: Frenkel group website, Theory

Telephone: 01223 336376
             01223 336341

E-mail: df246@cam.ac.uk

The research in my research group focuses on the numerical exploration of routes to design novel, self-assembling structures and materials. In particular, I am interested in the possibilities that bio-molecular recognition and motor action offer to create complex, nano-structured materials.

The main aspects of the research are

  • Develop novel Monte Carlo techniques to predict the thermodynamic stability of complex structures (e.g. DNA-coated colloids – fig 1).
  • Explore novel dynamical simulation techniques to predict the rate at which novel structures form from a meta-stable parent phase (e.g. crystal nucleation – fig 2).
  • Quantify the disorder in granular packings.
  • Coarse-grained models for molecular motors.

Fig.1. Snapshot of condensation of a low-density (left) to high-density (right) system of colloids (shown as red and green spheres) linked by DNA coils (shown as small spheres in left snapshot).

  

Fig.2. Heterogeneous crystal nucleation on disordered substrates is facilitated by wetting and capillary condensation.

Publications

Monte Carlo study of hard pentagons
T Schilling, S Pronk, B Mulder, D Frenkel - Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys (2005) 71, 036138
(DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.71.036138)
Force barriers for membrane tube formation
G Koster, A Cacciuto, I Derenyi, D Frenkel, M Dogterom - Phys Rev Lett (2005) 94, 068101
(DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.068101)
Polymer crystallization driven by anisotropic interactions
WB Hu, D Frenkel - ADV POLYM SCI (2005) 191, 1
(DOI: 10.1007/12_011)
Oriented primary crystal nucleation in lamellar diblock copolymer systems
WB Hu, D Frenkel - Faraday Discuss (2005) 128, 253
(DOI: 10.1039/b403003f)
Numerical simulation of crystal nucleation in colloids
S Auer, D Frenkel - Advances in Polymer Science (2005) 173, 149
(DOI: 10.1007/b99429)
Speed-up of Monte Carlo simulations by sampling of rejected states.
D Frenkel - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2004) 101, 17571
(DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0407950101)
Designing specificity of protein-substrate interactions
I Coluzza, D Frenkel - Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys (2004) 70, 051917
(DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.70.051917)
Simulating colloids with Baxter's adhesive hard sphere model
MA Miller, D Frenkel - JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER (2004) 16, S4901
(DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/16/42/008)
Breakdown of classical nucleation theory near isostructural phase transitions.
A Cacciuto, S Auer, D Frenkel - Physical Review Letters (2004) 93, 166105
(DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.166105)
Homogeneous nucleation of colloidal melts under the influence of shearing fields
R Blaak, S Auer, D Frenkel, H Lowen - Journal of Physics Condensed Matter (2004) 16, S3873
(DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/16/38/007)


General


Research Interests


Teaching


Personal


Funding


Further Funding Information: 

External Links: