Daniel A. Beller
Harvard University
Department of Physics
17 Oxford St.
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Email:
Homepage:
dbeller@g.harvard.edu
http://scholar.harvard.edu/dbeller
Employment
Post-Doctoral Fellow
August 2016 – Present
Department of Physics
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
George Carrier Post-Doctoral Fellow
August 2014 – August 2016
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Education
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy
Advisor: Randall D. Kamien
Thesis: Controlling defects in nematic and smectic liquid crystals through
boundary geometry
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
B.S. in Physics with highest honors, B.A. in Mathematics, summa cum laude
April 2014
May 2010
Research Interests
Theory of soft matter physics, liquid crystals, topological defects, 2D order and elasticity, plasticity,
biological population dynamics.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
(* denotes shared first-author contribution)
16. D.A. Beller and D.R. Nelson. “Plastic deformation of tubular crystals by dislocation glide”, accepted
to Physical Review E (2016). [arXiv preprint]
15. L. Tran, M.O. Lavrentovich, D.A. Beller, N. Li, K.J. Stebe, and R.D. Kamien. “Lassoing saddle splay
and the geometrical control of topological defects”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
113 (2016) 7106–7111 (2016).
14. Y. Xia, E. Lee, H. Hu, M.A. Gharbi, D.A. Beller, E.-K. Fleischmann, R.D. Kamien, R. Zentel, and
S. Yang. “Better actuation through chemistry: Using surface coatings to create uniform director fields
in nematic liquid crystal elastomers”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 8 (2016) 12466–12472.
13. Y. Luo, F. Serra, D.A. Beller, M.A. Gharbi, N. Li, S. Yang, R.D. Kamien, and K.J. Stebe. “Around
the corner: Colloidal assembly and wiring in groovy nematic cells”, Physical Review E 93 (2016)
032705.
12. A. Honglawan, D.S. Kim, D.A. Beller, D.K. Yoon, M.A. Gharbi, K.J. Stebe, R.D. Kamien, and
S. Yang. “Synergistic assembly of nanoparticles in smectic liquid crystals”, Soft Matter 11 (2015)
7367–7375.
Daniel A. Beller
2
11. D.A. Beller, M.A. Gharbi, and I.B. Liu. “Shape-controlled orientation and assembly of colloids with
sharp edges in nematic liquid crystals”, Soft Matter 11 (2015) 1078–1086.
10. D.A. Beller, T. Machon, S. Čopar, D.M. Sussman, G.P. Alexander, R.D. Kamien, and R.A. Mosna.
“Geometry of the cholesteric phase”, Physical Review X 4 (2014) 031050.
9. M.A. Lohr, M. Cavallaro Jr., D.A. Beller, K.J. Stebe, R.D. Kamien, P.J. Collings, and A.G. Yodh.
“Elasticity-dependent self-assembly of micro-templated chromonic liquid crystal films”, Soft Matter
10 (2014) 3477-3484.
8. D.A. Beller∗ , M.A. Gharbi∗ , A. Honglawan∗ , K.J. Stebe, S. Yang, and R.D. Kamien. “Focal conic
flower textures at curved interfaces”, Physical Review X 3 (2013) 041026.
7. M. Cavallaro∗ , M.A. Gharbi∗ , D.A. Beller∗ , S. Čopar, Z. Shi, T. Baumgart, S. Yang, R.D. Kamien,
and K.J. Stebe. “Exploiting imperfections: Assembling surface colloids via bulk topological defects”,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (2013) 18804–18808.
6. M. Cavallaro∗ , M.A. Gharbi∗ , D.A. Beller∗ , S. Čopar, Z. Shi, T. Baumgart, R.D. Kamien, S. Yang,
and K.J. Stebe. “Ring around the colloid”, Soft Matter 9 (2013) 9099–9102.
5. M.A. Gharbi, M. Cavallaro, G. Wu, D.A. Beller, R.D. Kamien, S. Yang, and K.J. Stebe. “Microbullet
assembly: interactions of oriented dipoles in confined nematic liquid crystal”, Liquid Crystals 40 (2013)
1619–1627.
4. A. Honglawan∗ , D.A. Beller∗ , M. Cavallaro, R.D. Kamien, K.J. Stebe, and S. Yang. “Topographically
induced hierarchical assembly and geometrical transformation of focal conic domain arrays in smectic
liquid crystals”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (2013) 34–39.
3. R.A. Mosna, D.A. Beller, and R.D. Kamien. “Breaking the rules for topological defects: Smectic order
on conical substrates.” Physical Review E 86 (2012) 011707.
2. A. Honglawan, D.A. Beller, M. Cavallaro, R.D. Kamien, K.J. Stebe, and S. Yang. “Pillar-assisted
epitaxial assembly of toric focal conic domains of smectic-A liquid crystals”, Advanced Materials 23
(2011) 5519–5523.
1. E. Barry, D. Beller, and Z. Dogic. “A model liquid crystalline system based on rodlike viruses with
variable chirality and persistence length”, Soft Matter 5 (2009) 2563–2570.
Invited Commentaries
1. M.A. Gharbi, D.A. Beller, A. Honglawan, K.J. Stebe, S. Yang, and R.D. Kamien. “Controlling liquid
crystal defects”, SPIE Newsroom (2014) 10.1117/2.1201402.005369.
Honors and Awards
Glenn H. Brown Prize (Thesis Prize)
International Liquid Crystal Society
“For his outstanding theoretical work to identify the rich possibilities and outcomes of
controlling defects in nematic and smectic liquid crystals under a variety of boundary
conditions. The demonstration of the well controlled disclinations and focal conics is
expected to open up a novel route for self-assembly in soft-ordered materials.”
Brazil-U.S. Physics Ph.D. Student and Post-doc Visitation Program Award
Sociedade Brasileira de Física and American Physical Society
Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Teaching Certificate
University of Pennsylvania
Elias Burnstein Prize in Condensed Matter Physics
University of Pennsylvania
Teece Fellowship
University of Pennsylvania
August 2016
October 2015
Spring 2014
Fall 2013
2013-2014
Daniel A. Beller
Werner B. Teutsch Prize
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
“Awarded annually to the graduate student who, by his or her performance in the first
year courses, shows the most promise for outstanding achievement in research.”
Graduate Research Fellowship
National Science Foundation
3
Fall 2011
2011–2014
Stephan Berko Memorial Prize in Physics
Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University
Spring 2010
Schiff Memorial Award in Science
Brandeis University
Spring 2010
Undergraduate Departmental Representative Award
For work as student representative of the Department of Physics
Brandeis University
Spring 2010
Elihu A. Silver Prize for Undergraduate Research in Science
Brandeis University
Spring 2009
Phi Beta Kappa
Brandeis University
Spring 2009
Norman S. Rabb Scholar, Justice Brandeis Scholar
Brandeis University
2006 - 2010
Maryland Distinguished Scholar
2006
Talks and Presentations
Invited Talks
Dislocation-mediated phyllotactic transformations in tubular crystals
Centre for the Physics of Materials Seminar
Department of Physics, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
Manipulating focal conic domain self-assembly with boundary geometry
International Liquid Crystal Conference, Kent, OH
October 2016
August 2016
Nematic disclination loops in the presence of sharp-edged colloids and boundaries
Centre de Recherches Mathematiques workshop:
“Partial Order in Materials: Analysis, Simulations and beyond”, Montreal, QC, Canada
June 2016
Sharp-edged Colloidal Particles: Kinked Nematic Disclinations and Shapetunable Assembly Behavior
SIAM Conference on Mathematical Aspects of Materials Science, Philadelphia, PA
May 2016
Defect-mediated phyllotactic transformations as plastic deformations in
tubular crystals
Physical Mathematics Seminar, MIT, Cambridge, MA
Plastic deformation of tubular crystals by dislocation glide [video and slides online]
KITP Program: Geometry, elasticity, fluctuations, and order in 2D soft matter,
Santa Barbara, CA
A New Twist on Twisted Liquid Crystals
Physics and Astronomy Seminar, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
February 2016
January 2016
September 2015
Daniel A. Beller
Cholesteric liquid crystals and their defects: Which way is everything twisting?
Condensed Matter Seminar, Tufts University, Medford, MA
4
October 2014
Controllably patterned smectics: Using boundary geometry to assemble focal
conic domains
Widely Applied Mathematics Seminar, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
December 2013
Controllably patterned smectics: Using topography to assemble focal conic domains
Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Centre for Complexity Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
September 2013
July 2013
March 2013
Nematic disclinations in the presence of sharp-edged colloids and boundaries
Deparment of Physics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
May 2013
Controllable defect lattices in smectic liquid crystals via patterned substrate
topography
“Through the Looking Glass: A Glimpse into the Geometry and Topology of Materials",
Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton, NJ
December 2012
Controllable defect lattices in smectic liquid crystals via patterned substrate
topography
Theoretical Physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
New assemblies of defects in smectics via patterned substrate topography
COMPLOIDS Annual Meeting: The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
August 2012
June 2012
Contributed Talks
Dislocation-Mediated Reconfiguration of Tubular Crystals
Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, Boston, MA
Geometry and topology of the cholesteric pitch axis: Which way is everything twisting?
APS March Meeting, San Antonio, TX
December 2015
March 2015
Flower textures of smectic focal conic domains: Friedel’s laws in reverse
Liquids 2014: Liquid Matter Conference, Lisbon, Portugal
July 2014
Flower-petal arrangements of focal conic domains: Friedel’s laws in reverse
International Liquid Crystal Conference, Dublin, Ireland
July 2014
Flower textures of smectic focal conic domains: Friedel’s laws in reverse
ACS Colloids & Surface Science Symposium, Philadelphia, PA
June 2014
Controllably patterned smectics: Using topography to assemble focal conic domains
Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals, Biddeford, ME
June 2013
Modeling the assembly of colloids with sharp features in nematic liquid crystals
Physics of Complex Colloids: COMPLOIDS Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia
May 2013
New assemblies of defects in smectics via patterned substrate topography
International Liquid Crystal Conference, Mainz, Germany
August 2012
Daniel A. Beller
5
Pillar-assisted epitaxial assembly of focal conic domain arrays
in Smectic-A Liquid Crystals
APS March Meeting, Boston, MA
February 2012
Phase separation in fluids with chaotic advection
APS March Meeting, Portland, OR
March 2010
A model liquid crystalline system based on rodlike viruses with tunable chirality
APS March Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
March 2009
Poster Presentations
Stripes and other distortion patterns at the nematic-smectic transition in hybrid-aligned
cells with strong anchoring
International Liquid Crystal Conference
August 2016
Dislocation-mediated reconfiguration of tubular crystals
Gordon Research Seminar and Conference on Soft Condensed Matter Physics
August 2015
“Flower textures” of smectic defects via interface curvature
Gordon Research Seminar and Conference on Liquid Crystals
Modeling nematic disclinations in the presence of sharp-cornered boundaries
Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals
The Mathematics of Liquid Crystals Workshops,
Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge
June 2015
June 2013
March and June 2013
Pillar-Assisted Assembly of Focal Conic Domain Arrays in Smectic Liquid Crystals
International School of Physics “Enrico Fermi": “Physics of Complex Colloids"
Gotham Metro Codensed Matter Meeting, New York, NY
Boulder School for Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals
Soft Solids and Complex Fluids School at University of Massachusetts Amherst
July
November
July
June
May - June
2012
2011
2011
2011
2011
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant: Mathematical Methods of Physics
Teaching Assistant: Statistical Mechanics
Teaching Assistant: General Physics Laboratory
University of Pennsylvania
Fall 2013
Fall 2011
Fall 2010 - Spring 2011
Professional Activities
Membership Committee: Topical Group on Soft Matter, APS
December 2015 - Present
Organizer: Widely Applied Mathematics Seminar, Harvard University
Fall 2014 - Spring 2016
Co-organizer: Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals Student Session
June 2013
Science and Math Outreach
Instructor, “Crazy 8s” After-School Math Club
Cambridgeport School, Cambridge, MA
Visiting Scientist, “Einstein in the Classroom” (Cambridge Science Festival)
King K-8 School, Dorchester, MA
Science demonstration leader, “Science at the Sixers” night
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Spring 2016
Spring 2015
February 2014
Daniel A. Beller
6
Schools and Workshops Attended
KITP Program: Geometry, elasticity, fluctuations, and order in 2D soft matter
UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
January
Princeton Summer School on Condensed Matter Physics
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
July
International School of Physics “Enrico Fermi" Course: “Physics of Complex Colloids”
Varenna, Italy
July
COMPLOIDS Training Modules T3 and T5
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
March
Topological Methods in Complex Systems, IMA Summer Graduate Program
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
July - August
Boulder School for Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
July
Gordon Research Conference on Liquid Crystals
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
June
Soft Solids and Complex Fluids School
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
May - June
2016
2012
2012
2012
2011
2011
2011
2011