ICTP WORKSHOP (Apr '06)

INTERFACE OF LIFE (Jan '08)

MOLECULAR MOTORS, TRACKS AND TRANSPORT (Jan '10)

WORKSHOP AND CONFERENCE ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES (Sep '10)

WORKSHOP ON ACADEMIC ETHICS (July '11)

My research applies methods from statistical mechanics to problems in condensed matter physics and biophysics.

Much of my research has been in the field of type-II superconductivity, including theoretical approches to problems such as flux-lattice melting, vortex glass structure and correlations, the peak effect, dynamical states in driven disordered flux-line arrays, the surface melting of the flux lattice and models for data from muon-spin rotation experiments.

Some recent results: the first direct observation of the vortex glass phase (PRL '04), the resolution of a puzzle in muon-spin rotation experiments on flux-line systems (PRL '06), the theory of the surface melting of the vortex lattice (PRL, '06, PRB, '07) and a thermodynamically consistent theory for flux-lattice melting ("flux lines melt like ice") (PRB, '07, and earlier work). We've also made some progress in understanding the classic problem of peak effect anomalies in type-II superconductors (PRB-RC,'07,PRB,'10).

Older work includes a proposal for a universal phase diagram for weakly disordered superconductors (PRB, '02, MPLB '01, Physica '01, Phase Transitions '02), the observation of reentrant melting of vortex lines (PRL, '96), a theory of correlations in disordered fluids and the melting of the disordered flux-lattice (PRL, '94), the theory of muon-spin-rotation experiments in disordered superconductors (PRB, '98) and the development of density functional approaches to flux-lattice melting (PRL, '91, PRB, '96).

My ongoing work centres around understanding the phase behaviour of disordered superconductors, relating theoretical models and their predictions to experimental data.

Some work: the modeling of double stranded DNA with bubbles (PRL, '05), active membranes (PRE, '02, EPJE, '09), motor microtubule mixtures (PRE, '04), sheared colloids (PRE,'09), liquid crystal statics and dynamics (PRE '08, PRE '08, PRE '09, JCP '09,JCP '10, Chaos '10) and polymer rings (PRE '08, J. Stat. Phys '08, JSM '10). Some older work includes models for living polymers (EPL '93, PRL '95, PRE '99), sponge phases (MCLC '96), and the collective behavior of molecular motors (PRE '99).

The theoretical description of soft and biological matter (active matter) far from thermal equilibrium is of special interest to me. Several current collaborations aim at a better understanding of active intracellular transport and the mechanical properties of cellular matter from a theoretical perspective.

A brief pedagogical review of the physics of active matter can be found here ( in ``Rheology of Complex Fluids'', J. Murali Krishnan et al (Eds) Springer, 2010).

The topics below contain selected publications.

• Type-II Superconductivity
• Statistical Mechanics
• Soft Matter and Biological Physics

Career

• Ph.D, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India (1994) 
• Visiting Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India (1994-96) 
• Post-doctoral Fellow/Sessional Instructor, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada (1996-98) 
• Fellow, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India (1998-2003) 
• Reader, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India (2003-2006) 
• Associate, Indian Academy of Sciences, India (1996-2001) 
• DST Fast Track Fellowship (2002)
• Swarnajayanti Fellowship (2005)
• Professor, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India (2006-) 
• DAE-SRC Outstanding Research Investigator (2010-) 
• APS Outstanding Referee (2011) 
• Visiting Professor, NUS Singapore (Oct, 2011 - ) 

Seminars and Invited Talks