A new physics is developing in contact with biology and chemistry; it seeks to understand the behavior of objects traditionally considered too unpredictable for this science – from polymers to living things. Jean-François Joanny paints a portrait of this young science, built on challenges.
How to mathematize the moving, predict the irregular? By focusing on objects that are neither solid nor liquid, soft matter physics faces major methodological challenges. It manages to unify a seemingly very disparate set – polymers, liquid crystals, human body cells, herds of animals, etc. – under common equations. Above all, it gives itself the means to study what, until recently, remained on the margins of its field of investigation: the living. This opens up new areas of application, particularly in medicine.
In this interview, Jean-François Joanny, holder of the chair “Soft Matter and Biophysics” at the Collège de France, traces the history of this new physics, constructed at the interface of other disciplines, and points out the promising avenues of this rapidly developing science.
Shooting: Ariel Suhamy. Editing: Catherine Guesde. Interview by Catherine Guesde
His research activities focus on cellular biophysics and fundamental cellular processes, tissue mechanics and growth, and cancer physics.
Jean-François Joanny has received several distinctions: silver and bronze medals from the CNRSAmpère Prize of the Academy of Sciences. He was a junior and senior member of theIUF.