A lady +2 Soft Matter chaps

Physics, not statistics …

Soft matter science and COVID-19 Wilson Poon et al (Edinburgh Uni)

From the Abstract of a yet to be published paper: Soft matter science and the COVID-19 pandemic — “A dominant route for transmission is via air-borne aerosols and droplets. Viral interaction with polymeric body fluids, particularly mucus, and cell membranes control their infectivity, while their interaction with skin and artificial surfaces underpins cleaning and disinfection and the efficacy of masks and other personal protective equipment. The global response to COVID-19 has highlighted gaps in the soft matter knowledge base. We survey these ...”. Worth a read, IMHO.

Also, Professor Wilson Poon was IAS Fellow at Grey College, Durham University (January — March 2020). He is an integral part of the Durham research project, Material Imagination, led by Professor Tiago Moreira (Sociology) and Dr Margarita Staykova (Physics). Research on living materials is in its very early stage. Fusing bacteria to artificial membrane interfaces is one goal …

Of interest from the base of the webpage, maybe, is his IAS lecture, with audio: The most beautiful book in Scotland: Regime Change, Reformation and Rebellion on Parchment. It’s about a prayer book.

Professor Poon is also an active member of the IOP in Food Physics and has won the Sam Edwards medal, as did the ex-Durham Professor Tom McLeish below, in 2017, who has written several books.

Soft Matter: A Very Short Introduction: Tom McLeish (Durham/York)

As can be seen from the OUP website snapshot below this is the latest in their pocket sized “Short Introduction” series:

• the study of materials such as polymers, colloids, liquid crystals, and foams
• Examines the inner structure of these forms of matter and the shared physical properties and behaviours that emerge from that structure

Tom is also religious with a book, lower left on Faith & Wisdom in Science.