Professor Stephen Hyde, Australian National University.
Brief CV:
Stephen Hyde is interested in self-assembly, from molecular materials to
complex systems. He was introduced to the field by Kåre Larsson - a
pioneer of molecular self-assembly - and has remained at the forefront of
developments in molecular self-assembly since, with international
collaborations with leading groups in France, Japan, Spain, the US and
Italy. Contributions to the area of molecular self-assembly include:
The first accurate description of bicontinuous phases and the first accurate description of multiple bicontinuous phases in a synthetic lyotropic liquid crystal.
Discovery of crystalline and random hyperbolic "mesh" and "strut" phases in a variety of synthetic copolymer systems, including block, graft, comb, star and random copolymer systems, and copolymer-homopolymer mixtures (joint with Kyoto polymer scientists).
Co-discovery of stable, ultra-porous molecular crystals (comprising metal coordination polymers) (joint with Michigan, Arizona chemists).
Synthesis of abiotic inorganic (silica-carbonate) "biomorph" materials, whose dimensions and shapes mirror the most primitive bacterial fossils (as well as supposed "fossil remnants" reported in the Martian meteorite ALH84001) (joint with a Granada geologist).
Hyde's work is based on a parallel program of fundamental geometrical studies, involving advanced topological and geometric techniques. That work has led to
Comprehensive mathematical derivation and descriptions of crystalline "three-periodic" minimal surfaces.
Discovery of generic cellular morphologies, including "polycontinuous" forms (often spontaneously chiral) and interwoven helical rod packings, that extend the canon of possible partitions of 3D euclidean space dramatically.
