William T.M. Irvine is a Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago, affiliated with the James Franck Institute, Enrico Fermi Institute, and The College. His research focuses on geometric and topological mechanisms underlying phenomena in fluids, soft matter, and optics. He leads the Irvine Lab, exploring topics such as knotted vortices, topological metamaterials, and chiral fluid dynamics. Irvine holds significant awards including the Packard Fellowship and Sloan Fellowship. Education: PhD in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2006); D.Phil. in Physics from the University of Oxford (2004). Postdoctoral work at New York University with Paul Chaikin. Research Interests: Topological fluid mechanics, soft condensed matter, knotted fields in light and fluids, and active matter. Projects include designing topological mechanical metamaterials and studying vortex dynamics using advanced imaging techniques. Publications: Over 50 publications in Nature Physics , Science , PNAS , and others, with key contributions on gyroscopic metamaterials, knotted vortices, and chiral fluids. Recent work explores odd elasticity and active matter phases. Awards: Fellow of the American Physical Society (2017), NSF CAREER Award (2014), and numerous fellowships (Packard, Sloan, Lindemann). Lab & Collaborations: The Irvine Lab includes postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. Collaborators include Denis Bartolo (ENS Lyon), Vincenzo Vitelli (UChicago), and Stefano Sacanna (NYU). Active in organizing conferences and workshops on topological mechanics and active matter.










