Soft matter systems, including biological macromolecules, synthetic polymers, and colloids, are characterized by their dynamic structures/assemblies and extreme response to changes in environmental conditions. Characterizing the free-energy landscapes of soft materials, resolving the mechanism of sampling alternative structures, and connecting such dynamics to bulk behavior, remain outstanding challenges in soft matter physics.

Emerging super-resolved fluorescence microscopy tools are enabling the re-examination of many phenomena related to the unique hydrodynamics of complex fluids, with the hope that molecular-scale measurements can inform observed bulk behavior. Many phenomena related to the unique hydrodynamics of complex fluids, including the Toms Effect, turbulence suppression, and maximum drag reduction, have been attributed to the formation of nanoscopic depletion layers formed at the solid-fluid interface. The inherently short length scales and subtle compositional differences in these layers have prevented detailed characterization in the past.  I will review my labs work on the development of novel super-resolution imaging methods that allow for the complex interfacial physics of polymer solutions to be directly observed.