Erik Luijten

About

Erik Luijten is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, with courtesy appointments in Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, and Chemistry. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Delft University of Technology and an M.Sc. in Physics from Utrecht University. His research focuses on the statistical mechanics and thermodynamics of materials, particularly complex fluids such as polymeric systems, colloids, electrolytes, and active matter. His work primarily involves computer simulations aimed at understanding experimental phenomena from microscopic features and testing analytic theories, with the goal of predicting new material properties and designing novel materials. His current projects include problems in self-assembly, self-organization, charge transport in electrolytes, programmable and active matter, and dielectric materials. Luijten emphasizes the development of advanced simulation techniques and data analysis methods to address computational challenges in these areas. Notable advances in his research include the creation of efficient Monte Carlo algorithms for systems with long-range interactions and large component disparities, as well as methods for dynamic dielectric materials and electrokinetic phenomena. His contributions have been recognized through awards such as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2023), Fellow of the American Physical Society (2013), NSF CAREER Award…

Research topics

• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Computer Science
• Chemical physics
• Physics
• Statistical physics
• Quantum mechanics
• Physical chemistry
• Engineering
• Chemistry

Selected publications

• From predictive modelling to machine learning and reverse engineering of colloidal self-assembly

  Nature Materials · 2021 · 170 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• “Metaphilic” Cell-Penetrating Polypeptide-Vancomycin Conjugate Efficiently Eradicates Intracellular Bacteria via a Dual Mechanism

  ACS Central Science · 2020-12-03 · 68 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  , significantly outperforming vancomycin, which represents one of the most effective intracellular antibacterial agents reported so far. This strategy can be easily adapted to develop other conjugates against different intracellular pathogens by attaching different antibiotics to these highly membrane-penetrative metaphilic CPPs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Two Mesoporous Domains Are Better Than One for Catalytic Deconstruction of Polyolefins

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023-08-04 · 59 citations

  articleOpen access

  Catalytic hydrogenolysis of polyolefins into valuable liquid, oil, or wax-like hydrocarbon chains for second-life applications is typically accompanied by the hydrogen-wasting co-formation of low value volatiles, notably methane, that increase greenhouse gas emissions. Catalytic sites confined at the bottom of mesoporous wells, under conditions in which the pore exerts the greatest influence over the mechanism, are capable of producing less gases than unconfined sites. A new architecture was des…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Charge Regulation Effects in Nanoparticle Self-Assembly

  Physical Review Letters · 2021 · 59 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Nanoparticles in solution acquire charge through the dissociation or association of surface groups. Thus, a proper description of their electrostatic interactions requires the use of charge-regulating boundary conditions rather than the commonly employed constant-charge approximation. We implement a hybrid Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics scheme that dynamically adjusts the charges of individual surface groups of objects while evolving their trajectories. Charge regulation effects are shown to qua…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Unravelling crystal growth of nanoparticles

  Nature Nanotechnology · 2023-03-30 · 53 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Shape Control and Transport Properties of DNA-Copolymer Micelles

  NIH · $1.5M · 2015–2020

• Advanced Algorithms for Colloids with Induced Many-Body Interactions

  NSF · $369k · 2016–2020

• Thermodynamics and Hydrodynamics of Anisotropic Colloids

  NSF · $285k · 2010–2014

Frequent coauthors

• Steve Granick

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  41 shared

• Zhenli Xu

  Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  36 shared

• Ziwei Wang

  Northwestern University

  31 shared

• Zecheng Gan

  University of Hong Kong

  27 shared

• M. Tacca

  26 shared

• E. Chassande–Mottin

  Laboratoire AstroParticule et Cosmologie

  26 shared

• Shidong Jiang

  26 shared

• Jiaxing Yuan

  The University of Tokyo

  25 shared

Labs

• Computational Soft Matter LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Physics

  Technische Universiteit Delft

  1997

• M.S., Physics

  Universiteit Utrecht

  1993

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sc…
• Fellow, American Physical Society (2013)
• Xerox Award for Faculty Research (2006)
• NSF CAREER Award (2004)
• Helmholtz Award, International Association for the Propertie…

Similar researchers at Northwestern University

• Tobin J. Marksh-176
• Joseph Hupph-171
• James D Thomash-160