Robert B. Meyer
Professor of Physics and Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Emeritus
Degree
PhD, Harvard University, 1970
Research
Robert Meyer studies many different aspects of liquid crystals. Currently, he is interested in patterns formed in two-dimensional systems, and in the unique properties of liquid crystal gels, which combine coupling between the elasticity of the gel and the molecular orientation in the liquid crystal. He is interested in the basic science of these systems and in possible practical applications. Professor Meyer is a member of the Brandeis Complex Fluids group.
Group website CV and list of publications (pdf)
Recent PhD Students
Cihan Nadir Kaplan (2013), "Colloidal Membranes: The Rich Confluence of Geometry and Liquid Crystals" Present Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Guangnan Meng (2004) "Elasticity of Thin Layers of Nematic Liquid Crystalline Gels: Electro-Optics and Thermo-Mechanics" Present Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics and HSEAS, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Jong-Bong Lee (2004) "Textures and Free Energy in Free Standing Thin Film of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals" Present Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, POSTECH, Pohang, South Korea
Sample of Recent Publications
“Theory of depletion-induced phase transition from chiral smectic-A twisted ribbons to semi-infinite flat membranes“, C. Nadir Kaplan, Hao Tu, Robert A. Pelcovits, and Robert B. Meyer, Phys. Rev. E 82, 021701 (2010)
"Twist penetration in single-layer smectic A discs of colloidal virus particles" Pelcovits, Robert A. and Meyer, Robert B. Liquid Crystals 36. 10-11 (2009): 1157-1160
"Mechanisms of flexoelectric switching in a zenithally bistable nematic device" Parry-Jones, Lesley A, Meyer, Robert B., and Elston, S.J. Journal of Applied Physics 106. 1 (2009): article number 014510