EPJ E Topical Issue: Festschrift in honor of Philip (Fyl) Pincus
- Details
- Published on 25 October 2022
Guest Editors: David Andelman, Jean-Marc Di Meglio, and Cyrus R. Safinya
Submissions are invited for a Topical Issue of EPJ E “Festschrift in honor of Philip (Fyl) Pincus”
Short Biosketch
Philip (Fyl) A. Pincus is among the leading theoreticians worldwide working on soft condensed matter, polymers, and complex fluids. His seminal work on the elongational energy of self-avoiding chains forms the basis for the study of polymers in confined geometries. Pincus introduced the idea that polymers under force break up into independent “blobs” (referred to as Pincus blobs in de Gennes' book on polymers) whose size is determined by the magnitude of the external force. In addition, Pincus is among the pioneers in having developed concepts necessary to understand the practical problem of colloid stabilization by adsorbed or grafted polymers. Furthermore, his scaling approach to elucidating the physical properties of polyelectrolytes is world-renowned even though the statistical mechanics of polyelectrolytes remains incomplete. His contributions have received both theoretical and experimental attention. Pincus was among the first scientists to recognize the importance of interfacial problems in soft condensed matter systems from a fundamental physics viewpoint as well as from the practical technological side. He has had a critical influence by having inspired and provided the scientific leadership for the first synchrotron study that was carried out on measuring the concentration profile for polymers near interfaces. In addition to his major contributions to polymer physics, for which he was awarded the American Physical Society's High Polymer Prize in 1992, Pincus has also been a leading scientist in elucidating (together with his students and collaborators) the unique role of electrostatic interactions in membrane systems. He and his collaborators were among a handful of independent “theoretical soft matter groups” worldwide that played a central role in understanding how charge fluctuation effects can lead to attractive interactions between similarly charged membranes. Aside from his numerous seminal contributions to the nascent soft- and bio-matter field, Pincus conducted highly visible research during the early stages of his career in more traditional solid-state physics, magnetism, superconductivity, one-dimensional conductors, and spin-Peierls transitions.
This Topical Issue will cover a broad range of topics of interest to the readership of EPJ E including advances in the understanding of physical and chemical aspects of Soft Matter and Biological Systems. (See: https://www.springer.com/journal/10189)
