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.
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
- Graduate Fellowships:
- Postdoctoral Fellowships:
- Transition to faculty position fellowships:
Contact