Professor Mikhail Osipov

Mathematics and Statistics

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Personal statement

My main research interest is in the statistical mechanical theories of soft matter, with a particular emphasis on liquid crystals, mesogenic polymers and related materials. I have made a contribution to the molecular and phenomenological theory of thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals, cholesteric ordering in polymers, chain formation in strongly polar fluids and mathematical description of chirality. In the field of liquid crystals I have contributed mainly to the theory of phase transitions, theory of ferroelectric ordering and cholesteric twisting, molecular theory of elasticity and  flexoelectricity, theory of rheological and surface properties of nematics and smectics, theory of the dielectric and optical properties and theory of liquid crystal composites doped with anisotropic nanoparticles. Recent work includes a molecular theory of bent-core liquid crystals, theory of anisotropic polymer nanocomposites and a theory of cholesteric and ferroelectric lyotropic liquid crystals.

Recently I have been the UK PI in the Materials World Network project jointly funded by USA, UK, Germany, Canada and Sweden and an organiser of the EPSRC-funded 6 month programme “Mathematics of Liquid Crystals” at the Newton Institute, Cambridge

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Prize And Awards

Frederiks Medal
Recipient
26/7/2018
Hilsum Medal
Recipient
31/3/2015
Merkator Guest professor Award
Recipient
20/2/2008

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Professional Activities

Newton International Fellowships Panel (External organisation)
Member
2018
Stochastic Spin Systems:models, theory, simulation and real world applications
Invited speaker
28/9/2017
Orientational order of anisotropic nanoparticles in nematic iquid crystals and diblock copolymers
Speaker
26/6/2017
14th European Liquid Crystal Conferenc
Invited speaker
26/6/2017
26th International Liquid Crystal Conference
Invited speaker
30/8/2016
26th International Liquid Crystal Conference
Speaker
2/8/2016

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Projects

Molecular models for unconventional smectic liquid crystals
Osipov, Mikhail (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2011 - 31-Jan-2012
Thermodynamics of liquid crystal ordering in polymer nematics doped with najoparticles. Collaboration projedct supported by Russian Sci. Foundation, 3 Mil RUB
Osipov, Mikhail (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2011 - 31-Jan-2012
Materials World Network: Fast Analog Electrooptic Liquid Crystal Materials
Osipov, Mikhail (Principal Investigator)
A joint program of research in chiral/polar liquid crystals showing fast analog electrooptics is proposed between experimental and computer simulation group at the University of Colorado, Boulder, experimental groups at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, the University of Stuttgart, Germany and Queen's University, Canada, and the theoretical group at the University of Strathclyde, UK. While various combinations of the partners have been collaborating separately over the past several years, all with joint publications, the proposed Network will create a uniquely powerful team for forefront research on chiral liquid crystals. The proposal is focused into synthesis, characterization and theoretical modelling of novel smectic liquid crystal materials, which will have a number of advantages over the existing materials including much faster switching, lower energy consumption and a broader range of applications in electrooptic and all optical devices. A number of exotic chiral smectic liquid crystal materials will be investigated including the V-shaped switching ferroelectric smectics with the most rapid analog liquid crystal electro-optic effects; the deVries materials which tilt without layer contraction in the Smectic C* phase, the closely related orthoconic high-tilt antiferroelectrics; and the recently discovered family of bent-core liquid crystals with a polar smectic A phase that give phase-only electrooptic modulation The de Vries type smectic materials are characterized by anomalously weak layer contraction which enables one to avoid buckling of smectic layers at the tilting transition leading to the formation of the so-called zig-zag defects which seriously degrade the optical quality of smectic materials.. All of these smectic materials will be studied experimentally using polarized microscopy, polarization and tilt angle measurements, x-ray scattering technique and refractometry, and new materials with advanced characteristics will be synthesized using guidance from experiment, molecular theory and atomistic computer simulations. The proposed research highlights fundamental studies of the relationships of the properties of these novel liquid crystal systems with ramifications for a variety of areas in soft materials science. The corresponding materials development will enable a variety of novelapplications, including holographic data storage and projection, beam steering, and chirality detection. The theoretical part of the whole proposal (Work package Strathclyde) is focused into the development of the advance molecular theory of de Vries type ferroelectric materials, taking into account short-range orientational and positional intermolecular correlations, and interpretation of the experimental results obtained by other teams. Using the results of experimental studies and computer simulations, molecular models of analog de Vries smectic materials with nano-segregating groups will be developed, order parameters of these materials will be calculated numerically and compared with experimental data. Effect of various molecular model parameters on the value and temperature variation of the spontaneous polarization in de Vries type materials will be investigated including the effects of molecular shape and flexibility, dipole distribution and nano-segregating groups.
01-Jan-2010 - 30-Jan-2013
Structure and Optical properties of composite materials based on cholesteric and smectic liquid crystals with semiconductor nanoparticles. Collaboration project supported by Russian Sci. Foundation, 3 Mil RUB
Osipov, Mikhail (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2010 - 31-Jan-2011
Smectic Ordering in Novel Materials. From Unconventional Liquid Crystals to Anisotropic Ionic Fluids. Joint Research with University of Stuttgart supported by German SDcience Foundation, 45000 Euro
Osipov, Mikhail (Principal Investigator)
30-Jan-2008 - 01-Jan-2009
Smectic liquid crystals that tilt without layer contraction
Osipov, Mikhail (Principal Investigator)
In conventional smectic liquid crystals (LC) the transition into the tilted Sm C phase is accompanied by a decrease of smectic layerspacing. This is a very negative factor for electro-optic displays based on ferro- and antiferroelectric smectic LC because the layer compression leads to a buckling of layers in a chevron geometry. This results in a serious degrade of the quality of such devices. Recently a number of novel smectic materials have been discovered with practically no layer compression. These materials attract a significant interest from industry and academia; they seem to represent a novel type of tilting transition which may also be observed in other soft matter systems including organic monolayers, artificial and biological membranes. A novel molecular theory of SmA - Sm C transition will be developed which explains why some materials do not show a layer contraction, and why others do, and how the molecular structure can affect the nature of the tilting transition. The theory will explain the existing experimental data including the role of low orientational order and weak interlayer correlations. Molecular models for smectics without layer compression will be proposed, based on model interaction potentials, and molecular parameters will be identified which enable one to distinguish between conventional and novel smectic materials.
01-Jan-2005 - 30-Jan-2008

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Contact

Professor Mikhail Osipov
Mathematics and Statistics

Email: m.osipov@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3655