Erika Eiser

Erika Eiser studied Physics at the Univ. of Konstanz, Germany. She did her Masters (Diplomarbeit) and PhD research in the group of Jacob Klein at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, focusing on the phase behavior of polymer melts using Nuclear Reaction analysis and interactions between polymer-bearing surfaces using a Surface Force Apparatus.

From 1997 to 2000 she did her postdoctoral research the Univ. Montpellier II and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, investigating the phase behaviour of self-assembled polymeric surfactants using in situ SAXS-rheology.

In 2000 she built a Soft Matter research group as Assistant Professor at the Univ. Amsterdam focusing on the self-assembly of DNA-functionalized colloidal systems and on the study of aging phenomena in nano-clay suspensions, using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Micro-Rheology (MR). 2008 she became Senior Lecturer at the Cavendish Laboratory, Univ. Cambridge and subsequently full Professor in Soft Matter Physics. There she started a line of research to design and study the dynamical and structural properties of DNA-functionalized colloids as diagnostic tool and DNA-hydrogels, using light-scattering MR methods including Optical Tweezers, and Video Microscopy. 2021 she took up a Professorship in Physics at PoreLab, a Center of Excellence, NTNU Trondheim, Norway, while remaining associated with the University of Cambridge. She continues her work on the design and characterization of colloidal and polymer networks, and the study of transport through nanoporous materials.