Asja Radja is the new assistant professor of physics at Bryn Mawr College. Professor Radja鈥檚 work focuses, broadly, in biophysics and pattern formations. In her lab, she identifies the physical phenomena that govern these various levels of organization, or put more simply, she attempts to understand how life builds itself to create the variety of shapes and patterns we see in our natural world. Professor Radja鈥檚 is based on the understanding that life is organized at many length scales ranging from the molecular to what we can see with our naked eyes, and there is an incredible amount of complexity in the shapes and patterns that we can see at these different levels of organization.
Many of us might be familiar with pollen due to allergies. When examining pollen under a microscope, one will see that these pesky particles are single cells that have beautifully decorated surfaces that make them look like, among other things, miniature soccer balls or spikey balls! The goal of Prof. Radja鈥檚 doctoral work was to figure out what physics dictates how these patterns form, and she discovered that during the development of these cells, a sugar mixture on the surface phase separates (similarly to how oil and vinegar naturally separate in the vinaigrette in your kitchen pantry), and it鈥檚 this phase separation process that that creates a unique pattern on the surface of these cells.
Professor Radja hopes to build a lab at Bryn Mawr College where she and her students can continue exploring these cells and other unique and beautiful patterns found in our natural world. Nature is an incredible source of inspiration for physics, and Prof. Radja looks forward to her students discovering the next set of cool and unique physics that describes the squishy, complicated, and unusual world of biology. One of Prof. Radja's biggest goals is to help graduate students strive to be the best versions of themselves. It might sound cliche, but it is truly the case that students thrive when they find the work that they do in graduate school fulfilling on a personal level. She is excited to get to know her graduate students more, find out what inspires them, and discover that intersection between their interests in order to find answers about biophysics and beyond!