Jake Song
Jake Song is a PhD candidate whose research combines materials engineering and soft matter physics with emerging trends in mechanics and rheology. Specifically, Jake studies the structural and dynamical properties of soft materials, from foods and cosmetics to cells and tissues, with the goals of understanding the microscopic origins of these dynamics and developing new constitutive models for engineering applications of soft materials. Through his innovative use of MATLAB, Jake has created valuable user-friendly tools for capturing the mechanical behavior of soft materials that lend new insights on the physical process that underlies the mechanical properties. As a MathWorks Fellow, Jake is refining these tools and applying them to fresh challenges, including recently to “self-healing” metal ion-cross-linked gel materials and to a large-scale review of the macroscopic dynamics of soft materials. His work has already yielded valuable knowledge and methods for soft materials research, and could be of great utility in the chemical, pharmaceutical, foods, consumer product, medicine, and materials industries. In addition, Jake’s current work on the complex dynamics of soft materials has the potential to advance the study of other complex phenomena including ecological cycles, forest fires, and extreme weather.