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About Us

Studying nanoscale dynamics in nanostructured chemical and biological soft material systems is crucial to understand, and ultimately engineer complex functionalities in material systems using nanoscale building blocks. The physics of nanostructured soft materials is particularly challenging to decipher because of the combination of small size of nanoparticles, incomplete knowledge of the forces between nanoparticles, and differences in material properties at the nanoscale compared to the bulk. Methods that can directly visualize the dynamics of these systems at the molecular and nanometer scale are still very limited. It is only now that with the advent of advanced in-situ microscopy instruments, high throughput imaging and acquisition techniques, data-driven machine learning tools, and physically-inspired theoretical models, we are able to directly image, study, and interpret the motions and interactions of nanoscale objects in liquids with an unprecedented spatial (nanometer) and temporal (milliseconds) resolution and with full conformational details. Our lab uses experimental, theoretical, and computational tools such as in-situ liquid phase transmission electron microscopy (LPTEM), rheology, statistical and colloidal thermodynamics, and machine learning to study the underlying physical principles that govern the dynamics, statistics, and self-organization of nanostructured soft matter systems, in and out of thermal equilibrium, from both fundamental and technological aspects . To achieve this goal, our main objectives are as follows:

  • Studying dynamics and self-assembly of nanoparticles and macromolecules in heterogeneous chemical and biological environments
  • Investigating individual to collective behavior of active nanomachines
  • Harnessing the power of machine learning to understand physical rules governing nanostructured-soft materials, design autonomous microscopy experimentation for inverse material design, and develop new statistical and thermodynamic models for multiscale phenomena

    • Team

  • Principle Investigator

    • Vida Jamali (CV)
    Email: vida@gatech.edu

    Vida is an assistant professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at GeorgiaTech since Aug 2022. She is also a program faculty of Machine Learning and Bioengineering PhD programs. She is also a member of the Institute for Materials, Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, and Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEAS). Previously she was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley working with Paul Alivisatos and Kranthi Mandadapu. She received her PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Rice University advised by Matteo Pasquali in 2017. Prior to that, she got her BS in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in 2011.


  • Graduate Students

    • Pagnaa Attah Nantogmah
    BS Chemical Engineering, Drexel University, 2022
    Email: pnantogmah@gatech.edu

    Pagnaa was born and raised in Accra, Ghana. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Drexel University in 2022, where she worked with Dr. Joshua Lequieu on modelling block copolymers and Dr. Aviel Chaimovich on simulating water-protein hydrophobic interactions using Python and C++ respectively. Pagnaa joined the Jamali Lab in 2022 and is excited to shift focus to experimental studies on nanoparticle diffusion using LPTEM. Outside of work, Pagnaa loves watching tv shows, dancing, and immersing herself in new cultures and experiences.



    Zain Shabeeb
    BEng Chemical Engineering, Newcastle University, 2018
    MSc Advanced Process Integration and Design, The University of Manchester, 2019
    Email: zshabeeb3@gatech.edu

    Zain was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan and lived in Switzerland for four years during middle school. Zain completed his BEng in Chemical Engineering and MSc in Advanced Process Integration and Design from the UK. During his undergraduate studies at Newcastle University, Zain started developing an interest in mathematical modeling and computer programming. For this reason, he pursued a Master’s degree in Process Integration and Design, and in his free time, learned Python programming, Machine Learning and Data Science. Before starting his Ph.D., Zain worked in Fatima Group in Pakistan as a Supply Chain management associate, where he used statistical time-series forecasting methods to forecast the prices of important commodities. Zain is an avid fan of cricket, and in his free time loves to work out, play table tennis and pool.

  • Undergraduate Students

    • Naisargi Goyal Email: ngoyal45@gatech.edu


    Naisargi is a third year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering major at Georgia Tech from Jaipur, India. She joined the group because she is interested in learning about nanoparticles and image processing algorithms. Outside of work, she likes to watch movies, play guitar and listen to music.



    Want to join our team?

    Prospective graduate students should apply directly to the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at GeorgiaTech, and Interdisciplinary Bioengineering and Machine learning PhD programs . We always look for motivated students interested in areas including nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, chemical and biological soft materials (colloids, polymer, proteins), active matter, liquid phase transmission electron microscopy, and machine leaning for physics and chemistry. ​ Admitted graduate students, please email Vida directly to schedule a meeting to chat.


    Undergraduate students interested in research position, please fill out this application form: https://forms.gle/dyeFPu4yERx9EHCo9 .

    Publications

    * denotes equal contribution, † denotes corresponding author

    • Studying diffusion of colloidal nanoparticles in solution using liquid phase TEM and machine learning .
      Vida Jamali†, A. Paul Alivisatos†, Microscopy and Microanalysis , (2022), 28 .

    • Observation of an orientational glass in a superlattice of elliptically-faceted CdSe nanocrystals .
      Abdullah S. Abbas, Emma Vargo, Vida Jamali, Peter Ercius, Priscilla F. Pieters, Rafaela M. Brinn, Assaf Ben-Moshe, Min Gee Cho, Ting Xu, A. Paul Alivisatos, ACS Nano, (2022), 16, 6 .

    • Recent advances in the study of colloidal nanocrystals enabled by in situ liquid phase transmission electron microscopy .
      Ivan Moreno-Hernandez*, Michelle Crook*, Vida Jamali*, A. Paul Alivisatos, MRS Bulletin, (2022), 47 .

    • Anomalous nanoparticle surface diffusion in liquid cell TEM is revealed by deep learning-assisted analysis .
      Vida Jamali, Cory Hargus, Assaf Ben Moshe, Amirali Aghazadeh, Hyun D. Ha, Kranthi K. Mandadapu, A. Paul Alivisatos, PNAS, (2021), 18, 10 .

    • Enhanced ordering in length-polydisperse carbon nanotube solutions at high concentrations as revealed by small angle X-ray scattering.
      Vida Jamali, Francesca Mirri, Evan G. Biggers, Robert Pinnick, Lucy Liberman, Yachin Cohen, Yeshayahu Talmon, Fred C. MacKintosh, Paul van der Schoot, Matteo Pasquali , Soft Matter, (2021), 17, 5122-5130 (Featured on the front cover of Soft Matter).

    • In situ quantification of interactions between charged nanorods in a predefined potential energy landscape.
      Hoduk Cho, Ivan A. Moreno-Hernanzdez, Vida Jamali, Myoung H. Oh, A. Paul Alivisatos, Nano Letters, (2021), 21, 1, 628-633 .

    • Perovskite-carbon nanotube fibers for light emitting fibers.
      Vida Jamali*, Farnaz Niroui*, Lauren W. Taylor, Oliver S. Dewey, Brent A. Koscher, Matteo Pasquali, A. Paul Alivisatos, Nano Letters, (2020), 20, 5, 3178-3184.

    • The effect of carbon nanotube diameter and stiffness on their phase behavior in crowded solutions.
      Lucy Liberman, Vida Jamali, Matteo Pasquali, Yeshayahu Talmon, Langmuir, (2020), 36, 242-249 .

    • Fluid phase ordering of charge-stabilized carbon nanotube solutions.
      Francesca Mirri*, Rana Ashkar*, Vida Jamali, Lucy Liberman, Robert A Pinnick, Paul van der Schoot, Yeshayahu Talmon, Paul D Butler, Matteo Pasquali, Macromolecules, (2018), 51, 17, 6892-6900.

    • Flexible and conductive fibers made from highly concentrated aqueous dispersions of carbon nanotubes.
      Laurent Maillaud, Robert J. Headrick, Vida Jamali, Julien Maillaud, Dmitri E. Tsentalovich, Wilfrid Neri, E. Amram Bengio, Francesca Mirri, Olga Kleinerman, , Yeshayahu Talmon, Philippe Poulin, Matteo Pasquali, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, (2018), 57, 10, 3554-3560.

    • Purification and dissolution of carbon nanotube fibers spun from the floating catalyst method.
      Thang Q Tran, Robert J Headrick, E Amram Bengio, Sandar Myo Myint, Hamed Khoshnevis, Vida Jamali, Hai M Duong, Matteo Pasquali, ACS applied materials & interfaces, (2017), 9, 42, 37112-37119.

    • Line tension of twist-free nematic liquid crystal microdroplets on flat solid surfaces.
      Vida Jamali, Evan G Biggers, Paul van der Schoot, Matteo Pasquali, Langmuir (2017), 33, 36, 9115-9121.

    • Increased solubility and fiber spinning of graphenide dispersions aided by crown-ethers.
      Chengmin Jiang, Zhiwei Peng, Carlos de los Reyes, Colin C Young, Dmitri E Tsentalovich, Vida Jamali, Pulickel M Ajayan, James M Tour, Matteo Pasquali, Angel A Martí. Chemical Communications, (2017), 53(9), 1498-1501.

    • Experimental realization of crossover in shape and director field of nematic tactoids.
      Vida Jamali*, Natnael Behabtu*, Bohdan Senyuk, J Alex Lee, Ivan I Smalyukh, Paul van der Schoot, Matteo Pasquali, Physical Review E, (2015) 91,4, 042507.

    News

  • Mar 2023- Vida will be the next seminar speaker of CCMST seminar series at Georgia Tech on Mar 14th to talk about deep learning and its application in LPTEM.
  • Mar 2023- Congratulations to Naisargi for being selected as the student rep of the GT-AICHE Chapter in 2023 AIChE Southeastern Regional Conference! she will present a poster on her research in our group.
  • Jan 2023- Congratulations to Pagnaa and Zain for passing their quals!
  • Oct 2022- Vida will be giving an invited talk at the liquid phase TEM Gordon Research Conference in Ventura, CA.
  • Oct 2022- Jamali group welcomes new team members Pagnaa, Zain, and Naisargi.
  • Aug 2022- Vida will be giving an invited talk at the Microscopy and Microanalysis conference in Portland, OR in August.
  • May 2022- Vida will be joining the school of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at GeorgiaTech in Fall 2022. Our lab will integrate electron microscopy, statistical mechanics, and machine learning to investigate the dynamics of soft material systems at the nanoscale.
  • May 2022- Our paper on observation of orientational glass phase in superlattices of elliptically faceted nanocrystals is now published in ACS Nano.
  • Dec 2021- Vida will be presenting a talk on my recent works at the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at UC Berkeley on Tuesday December 7th.
  • Nov 2021- Vida will be presenting a talk on my recent works on liquid phase TEM and anomalous diffusion at the AIChE conference in Boston, MA on Monday November 8th, 5:15 pm (203h).
  • Sep 2021- Vida has been selected as a Rising Star in Soft and Biological Matter by the University of Chicago MRSEC. I will present a summary of my research on Sep. 23rd in this symposium.
  • Sep 2021- Vida will be giving a talk in the Nano Seminar series at UC Berkeley on September 10, 2021.
  • May 2021- Our paper is featured on the front cover of the Soft Matter journal
  • March 2021- Our paper on deep learning-assisted study of nanoparticles' surface diffusion in liquid cell TEM is accepted to PNAS
  • March 2021- Our paper on studying high concentration solutions of carbon nanotubes using small angle X-ray scattering is accepted to Soft Matter
  • January 2021- Vida was awarded the Berkeley Postdoctoral Association Professional Development award
  • December 2020- Our paper on in-situ lift off of lithographed nanorods in liquid cell TEM is accepted to Nano Letters
  • November 2020- Vida will be giving a talk on using deep neural networks for studying anomalous surface diffusion of nanoparticles in liquid cell TEM at the AIChE fall meeting. The talk is publicly available on Youtube
  • October 2020- Vida was awarded the Women in Chemical Engineering (WIC) travel award to attend the AIChE fall meeting this November
  • September 2020- Vida was spotlighted by the UC Berkeley VSPA office in the national postdoctoral appreciation week
  • September 2020- Our new paper on deep-learning assisted liquid cell TEM is now available on ChemRxiv
  • July 2020- Alivisatos and Mandadapu's group are awarded a NSF EAGER grant to work on the surface diffusion of nanoparticles using in-situ liquid cell TEM
  • April 2020- Our paper on perovskite-carbon nanotube light emitting fibers is published in Nano Letters
  • November 2019- Vida will be presenting my work on light emitting fibers at the AIChE fall meeting, Orlando, FL
  • August 2019- Vida is selected as a participant in NSF-funded Future Faculty Workshop that will be held at Princeton University, NJ.
  • July 2019- Vida is selected to participate in ACS postdoc to faculty (P2F) workshop in Atlanta, GA

    • Resources

    Career Development

  • Advice by Andrea Armani for applying to PhD program and faculty position
  • Rising stars in soft and biological matter workshop by the University of Chicago MRSEC
  • FFW Diverse Leaders for the Future workshop by the University of Delaware
  • Princeton University soft matter for all symposium
  • NextProf Nexus by GeorgiaTech, UC Berkeley, and University of Michigan
  • How to give a talk by Borroughs Wellcome Fund
  • You and your research by Richard Hamming

    • Research Fellowships