Lab visit to Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research

The main goal of Airit Agasty trip was laboratory training in some specialized fluorescence microscopy techniques at the Department of soft-condensed matter at the Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. Within the scope of his research, it is essential to study the elastic effects in a macroscopic gel, as well as the viscous flow cross-over at the nano-scale, as well as to work on the viscosity of polymer solutions. The SPM lab in MPIP, Mainz is well-equipped with techniques and has great expertise in these fields, especially in the group of Dr. Kaloian Koynov. Airit had the pleasure of participating as a visiting student there. Over the period of three weeks, he had the privilege of obtaining training in dual-focus FCS techniques, AFM as well as different confocal microscopic techniques from those available at our institute (for example, Zeiss setups as opposed to PicoQuant setups in IChF). It was also a wonderful learning experience for other highly specialized rheometers and how to operate them, which will help him in the near future when he moves to Mainz for his secondment. Finally, this visit helped Airit to meet renowned polymer physicists with whom he could discuss his work and obtain helpful suggestions regarding how to it better.

Visitor

Airit Agasty

Dates

Sep.1 – 26, 2019

Location

SPM laboratory, Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany