In May 2022, Dr. Doi joined Oujiang Laboratory as a researcher. He developed the basic theory to explain the mechanical properties of complex systems of soft matter (polymers, gels, liquid crystals and sols) from the perspective of the microstructure of materials, and has published nearly 338 academic papers so far, 14 of which each have more than 200 SCI citations, with the highest citations of 1270 for a single paper, and the other two citations are 971 and 857 respectively. In addition, he published 3 academic monographs in English and 3 monographs in Japanese. In his early work, he elucidated the link between the viscoelastic behavior of complex systems of fluid polymers and their molecular structure (like molecular weight, branching and stiffness). From 1978 to 1979, he published four consecutive papers on J.Chem.Soc.Faraday Trans.II as the first author and Sir S.F.Edwards, former director of the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge and winner of the Boltzmann Medal, of which the outcome was later known as the Doi-Edwards Theory, and has become a milestone achievement in polymer science. Moreover, he also studied many problems of soft matter in non-equilibrium state, such as rheology, diffusion and phase transition, and made a lot important contribution in these areas.

Rheological characteristics of soft matter (such as gels, polymers and colloidal solutions)
1. Onsager principle in polymer dynamics
2. Evaporation kinetics of droplets on inert substrates
3. Nonlinear effects of free ions in nonconductive soft matter materials

● Presiding over the key project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), namely Kinetic Research on the Effect of Solvent Evaporation on the Structure of Polymer Films from 2015 to 2019
● Presiding over the international cooperation and exchange project of NSFC, namely Block Copolymer Nanoprinting---Dynamics of Nanopatterns and Nanostructures from 2015 to 2018
● Participating in the international cooperation and exchange project of NSFC, namely Modeling and Calculation of Heterogeneous Multilevel Flow and its Application in Materials Science from 2014 to 2019
● Participating in the the international cooperation and exchange project of NSFC, namely Nanostructure and Conductivity of Block Copolymer Membranes---Mechanism of Salt Ion and Electric Field Interaction from 2019 to 2022

● Serving as Academician of the National Academy of Engineering
● Recipient of Humboldt Research Award
● Recipient of Bingham Award by the Society of Rheology (U.S.)
● Being selected into the Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics (U.K.)
● Recipient of SPSJ Award
● Recipient of SRJ Award
● Recipient of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon
● Recipient of Medal with Purple Ribbon

PI: Masao Doi

Team Members：Shige Komura, Ryohei Seto, Tao Li, Zhiyuan Zhao

The team is led by Dr. Masao Doi, including a talent of Zhejiang Province and an overseas elite of Wenzhou City. They have rich experience as well as results in theoretical research, numerical simulation, and experiments in the field of soft condensed matter physics. The team members have received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Zhejiang Provincial commonweal Projects for many times. They have frequent international exchanges and cooperation and have strong international influence.

In the future, the team will focus on key scientific and technological problems in the fields of soft condensed matter physics, biomaterials, and medical engineering. The aim is to progress the development and application of soft matter materials with significant influence, to promote the intersection of basic theories of physics and specific applications of biology, and to achieve breakthroughs in new theories, technologies, and methods in the field of soft condensed matter physics.

The team is recruiting outstanding talents in physics and related interdisciplinary fields. The positions include researchers, associate researchers, assistant researchers, and postdoctoral fellows.

1. Application of Onsager's variational principle

We focus on applying Onsager’s variational principle in studying dynamics of soft matter. The applications include the gel swelling, drying and wetting dynamics, structure formation, interface sciences, and so on.

2. Theoretical study of biological soft matter in non-equilibrium

With an emphasis on the relation to biological phenomena, we conducted theoretical research to elucidate fluctuations, structures, and dynamics of bio-soft matter from the viewpoint of material science. His research has focused on three categories of soft matter: (i) amphiphilic soft matter, (ii) non-equilibrium soft matter, and (iii) active matter. More specifically, we have made the following achievements: (1) structure, phase behavior and dynamics of biomembranes, (2) creation of structural rheology, (3) microrheology and anomalous diffusion in a cell, and (4) pattern formation of skin cancers.

3. Dense suspension rheology and fluid mechanics

The rheology and fluid mechanics of particle suspensions remain a challenging problem. Dissipative dynamics of microscale particles require consideration of constraints such as contact forces that deprive them of freedom of tangential motion and the incompressibility of the fluid that fills the gaps between particles. We have introduced new computational simulation methods to address the nonequilibrium physics in flowing dense suspensions.

4. Creating new soft materials with complex microstructures and functionalities

We focus on creating new soft materials with complex structures, properties and functionalities. On one hand, we explore the mechanisms of their formation and stability; one the other hand, we try to extend their applications in various fields, including food and biomedicine. Specifically, we are interest in: (1) Multiple fluid materials and their applications; (2) Study the phase-separation process in biological systems; (3) Combining the soft matter physics and nanophotonics to create new type of optical devices.