David A. Weitz

Short CV

David Weitz received his B.Sc. from University of Waterloo in 1973, the A.M. in physics from Harvard University in 1975, and the Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University (Advisor: Prof. M. Tinkham) in 1978. He came to the Exxon Research and Engineering Co. in 1978 as a Physicist and joined Interfaces and Inhomogeneous Materials Group in 1987 as Group Leader. From 1989 to 1993 he was Science Area Leader for Complex Fluids. In 1995 he became Professor of Physics at University of Pennsylvania. He was working as Gordon McKay Prof. of Appl. Physics & Physics at Harvard University from 1999 to 2005.
Today, Weitz is Director of the Harvard Materials Research Science & Engineering Center, in addition, he is Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics & Applied Physics at Harvard University, Professor at the Department of Systems Biology, Co-director of the Harvard Kavli Institute for Bionano Science & Technology, and Co-director of the BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard.

Selected Awards

• Fellow American Physical Society
• Fellow Optical Society of America
• Fellow American Chemical Society
• Fellow Biophysical Society
• 01/2008, Jones Lecture, Engineering School, Dartmouth College, Hannover
• 10/2007, Warren McCabe Lecture, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University
• 10/2006, Jean Perrin Lecture, Institut Curie, Paris
• 04/2006, Distinguished Lecturer, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Penn State University, State College
• 04/2006, Engineering Foundation Endowed Lectureship, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
• 03/2004, Morrison Lectures, Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
• 1981, 1985, Exxon Incentive Awards

Research Interests

Weitz has intensively studied physics of soft condensed matter, colloidal dispersions, foams and emulsions, biomaterials; mechanics of biomaterials, cell rheology; microfluidic techniques for new complex fluid structures, bio-chemical assays, screening; synthesis of new soft materials; engineering structures for encapsulation; new optical measurement techniques for dynamics and mechanics of random systems; multiple scattering of classical waves.

Selected Publications

• Schall, P.; Weitz, D. A.; Spaepen, F.: Structural Rearrangements That Govern Flow in Colloidal Glasses. Science 318 (5858), 2007, 1895-1899.

• Fernández-Nieves, A.; Vitelli, V.; Utada, A. S.; Link, D. R.; Márquez, M.; Nelson, D. R.; Weitz, D. A.: Novel Defect Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystal Shells. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 (15), 2007.

• Brangwynne, C. P.; MacKintosh, F. C.; Weitz, D. A.: Force fluctuations and polymerization dynamics of intracellular microtubules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (41), 2007, 16128-16133.

• Utada, A. S.; Chu, L.-Y.; Fernandez-Nieves, A.; Link, D. R.; Holtze, C.; Weitz, D. A.: Dripping, Jetting, Drops, and Wetting: The Magic of Microfluidics. MRS Bull. 32 (09), 2007, 702-708.