Ranjini Bandyopadhyay

Biography

Ranjini Bandyopadhyay’s research interests are in the broad area of Experimental Soft Condensed MatterPhysics. She received her PhD in Physics at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.Her dissertation on the linear and nonlinear rheology of cylindrical micellar and polyelectrolyte solutions receivedthe Martin Foster award for the best thesis in the discipline of Physical Sciences at the IISc in 2001. She did herpostdoctoral research first at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles,CA, and then at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. In LosAngeles, Dr Bandyopadhyay worked on the absorption optics of aqueous foams and participated in the development of a new technique to study the non stationary dynamics of soft materials. Her research at the John Hopkins University focused on the aging dynamics in aqueous clay suspensions and the slow dynamics in liquid crystalline materials confined to the pores of a gel. She returned to India as a Scientist at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore, in 2005. Her research group at the RRI,where she is presently an Associate Professor, employs dynamic light scattering and rheological tools to study the structure, dynamics and rheology of soft materials such as copolymer solutions and colloidal suspensions.