This course provides you with a structured overview of theoretical approaches and experimental techniques that are helpful for designing and characterizing smart materials. Theoretical approaches offer tools for development of smart materials by correlating their nanoscale and microscale structure with the desired properties. Experimental and numerical research methods implement various analytical instruments to characterize the properties of real smart materials. Practicums give experiences in looking at microparticles through the lens of a microscope, measuring the size of nanoparticles by the laser beam, synthesizing soft matter with Lab on Chip devices, and practicing numerical simulation with the Matlab software package.

At the end of this course you will be able to:

1. Identify appropriate methods to characterize molecular and supramolecular organization of smart materials;

2. Demonstrate correlations between the structure of smart materials and their properties;

3. Distinguish useful properties of soft matter smart materials for technological applications;

4. Select specific smart materials for application in molecular electronics and medicine