Mike Solomon

Mike Solomon is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, serving as Dean of Rackham Graduate School since 2017. He received his B.S. (1990) and Ph.D. (1996) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UC Berkeley, respectively. His research focuses on complex fluids, soft materials, and microbial biofilms, combining experimental techniques like confocal microscopy with theoretical modeling. Key areas include colloidal assembly, gelation dynamics, and the biomechanics of bacterial biofilms. He has received numerous awards, including the Henry Russel Award (2003) and AAAS Fellowship (2017). His work bridges fundamental science and applications in materials engineering and biomedicine.

• Affiliations: University of Michigan, Rackham Graduate School, College of Engineering
• Education: B.S. Chemical Engineering & Economics (UW-Madison, 1990); Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (UC Berkeley, 1996)

Research Interests: Complex fluids, soft materials, colloidal self-assembly, biofilm mechanics, rheology of nanocomposites, and microfluidic synthesis. His group explores reconfigurable structural color in colloidal crystals and the impact of active matter on material properties. Recent work includes studies on Candida albicans biofilms and electrosprayed drug delivery systems.

Publications: Over 150 articles in journals like Small, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, and Physical Review Letters, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to soft matter physics and microbiology.

• Awards: NSF CAREER Award, 3M Faculty Award, Rackham Faculty Recognition Award
• Advising: Mentor to doctoral students including Tianyu Liu and Chih-Mei Young, with a focus on experimental and computational methods.

Labs/Teams: The Solomon Group, which combines microscopy, rheology, and computational modeling to study microscale phenomena. Current projects include active matter dynamics and biofilm-rheology interactions.