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Danqing Liu, together with Pengrong Lyu, Duygu Polat, and Mert Astam, recently published in two leading international journals, highlighting advances in light-responsive liquid crystal polymers for touch-based digital interaction. The artificial hand made of liquid crystal polymers that Danqing Liu and her team developed to mimic human movements. Photo: Danqing Liu Danqing Liu explores how […]

The HIM lab is looking to fill 6 new PhD positions. Apply here:

Danqing Liu plans to develop new liquid crystal polymer materials for touch display technologies to enhance user interactivity, while Richard Lopata is aiming to revolutionize abdominal ultrasound imaging. Two TU/e researchers have been awarded NWO Vici grants, a prestigious grant aimed at advanced researchers that facilitates the development of an innovative research line over a

HIM organizes  PhoSM 2026 in Eindhoven (TU/e) . A place to bring together the photoalignment, photopatterning, and soft-matter community and spark new collaborations.  📅 10–13 August 2026 (welcome reception on 9 August) | 📍 Eindhoven, NL  📝 Abstracts are due 15 May 2026 , we’re shaping a program with plenary/keynotes, invited talks, oral sessions, and posters

What is it like to work as a researcher? High school student Willemijn Wijckmans visited the Human Interactive Materials (HIM) laboratory to learn for herself. As part of her education, she followed a one-week internship within the HIM group. During her stay, Willemijn was guided by two researchers from the HIM group, postdoctoral researcher Dongyu

On Monday 2 February 2026, two researchers from the Human Interactive Materials (HIM) group, postdoctoral researcher Ivan Marin and PhD candidate Mathis Lagier, were invited to the Chinese Embassy in The Hague to participate in the China-Netherlands Youth Dialogue. The event brought together representatives from the Chinese embassy, Dutch government, universities, and research institutions, alongside

Feel alone in the lab? AI may be the solution this as your new lab buddy that takes you above and beyond! In his new perspective paper, Dr. Astam and PhD candidate L’Karkouri explore this concept and delve into the future world of liquid crystal research that is enhanced by artificial intelligence. The authors highlight

On November 19th, Jacques successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Singularities and Topological Solitons as Functional Elements in Liquid Crystal Coatings.” Jacques’s work focused on self-assembly strategies to create complex and elegant defect structures in liquid crystals, resulting in smooth and highly resolved director fields that translate into well-defined, reversible surface topographies. In his thesis,

On September 18th, Pengrong Lyu successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Engineering Soft Matter into Functional Architectures: Liquid Crystal Polymers Towards Device Integration.” The thesis explores how 3D/4D printing of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) inks can be used to create soft electronic systems that integrate sensing, actuation, and memory within a single material platform. Using

On 24th of June, 2025, HIM Group participated in TU/e Research Day, as a part of ICMS community, presenting a series of demonstrations showcasing the laboratory’s research activities! Representing the group, Elif coordinated with event organizers and, together with Tom and Iván, introduced and explained the demos to attendees. The session highlighted the group’s ongoing