The group focuses on pattern formation in far from equilibrium physicochemical systems, with an emphasis on renewable energy and biological media. The research is multidisciplinary and ranges from basic theory, such as local and global bifurcation theory, to applications-driven, such as intra-cellular actin polymerization, localized waves in the inner ear, soft-matter energy devices where morphology is coupled to Coulombic interactions, and photo-electrochemical water splitting at semiconductor/electrolyte interfaces.

Energy applications: the interest is in renewable energy devices that exploit nano-scale morphologies to increase efficiency. However, electrical effects are often strong enough to influence the structure of active layers of those materials leading to a notorious decrease in performance. To date, theoretical studies have dealt almost exclusively with uncoupled models of self-assembly and electrokinetics. We develop novel and computationally amenable mean-field frameworks that unify them. Our expectations are to advance devices, such as batteries, supercapacitors, and solar cells.

Biological applications: the interest is in self-organization that ranges from cellular to organ levels, such as spiral waves, pulses, synchronization, and steady states that are periodic in space. These non-equilibrium phenomena emerge through either spontaneous or forced symmetry-breaking mechanisms.