SMARTNET · Soft Materials Advanced Research Training Network

SMARTNET (“Soft materials advanced training network”) is an ITN at the interface of chemistry, physics, and biology, and deals with the science and technology of molecular soft materials. Soft matter (e.g. gels, emulsions, membranes) is of great societal and economic impact in fields such as food industry, cosmetics, oil extraction and increasingly in high value areas such as biomedicine and nanotechnology. Soft matter is formed when fluids are mixed with molecular additives, giving rise to molecular level structuring. Polymers and inorganic materials have been widely used in this context, but are unlikely to meet future performance requirements for high-tech applications. SMARTNET is focused on conceptually novel approaches towards the next generation of soft matter, based on self-assembling small molecules as promising alternatives to existing systems. The design of molecular components and control of self-assembly processes allows for organization across length scales leading to emergent properties and functions, and will impact on 21st century health care, biomedicine and energy-related technologies. SMARTNET provides a unique multidisciplinary training opportunity and a step change in understanding and exploitation of these systems. A competitive advantage will be achieved by close integration of world-class expertise in molecular design, self-assembly and nanofabrication, photo-chemistry and -physics, multiscale modeling, state-of-the-art scattering and spectroscopy, with application areas such as biomedical, opto-electronic and catalytic materials. SMARTNET consolidates, through international and cross-disciplinary coordination and integration of 9 teams, leading EU research efforts in the area of supramolecular soft matter and offers unique opportunities to the highest level of training-through-research projects.""