University of Amsterdam
The Physica Prize 2021 has been awarded to Daniel Bonn of the University of Amsterdam. Prof. Dr. Daniel Bonn is a leading expert in soft matter, a field that encompasses a wide field of materials that deform easily, such as plastics and gels. The Physica Prize is awarded annually to an eminent physicist working in the Netherlands.
Daniel Bonn. Photo: UvA
Daniel Bonn revolutionised the scientific fields that deal with systems that are neither solid nor liquid (‘complex fluids’) and with the interaction between liquids and solids (‘wetting’). Most of his research is centred around materials that appear in everyday life. Blood, shampoo and oil are examples of complex fluids, which sometimes act as liquids and sometimes as solids. Daniel Bonn’s breakthrough work on the phase transition between solid-like and liquid-like behaviour has led to a much more complete understanding of the underlying physics.