We study the physics of complex fluids, soft materials, and living systems. Our work asks how flow, forces, and chemical signals interact with structure, from microscopic particles and microbial communities to freezing materials and adaptive networks. We combine experiments, quantitative imaging, simulations, and theory to understand the physical processes shaping natural and engineered systems.
Explore selected projects
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Transport through complex environments
We study how chemical cues and pore geometry shape the movement of particles and bacteria.
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Freezing and thawing
We explore how ice, grains, and liquid interact, from frozen soils and glacier beds to microbial habitats and porous materials.
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Adaptive flow networks
We study how flow and flexible structures interact to store history, and ask whether networks can adapt and compute.
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Find your research question
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Curiosity across scales
Meet the Pahlavan Lab
We bring experiments, computation, and theory together to explore fluid mechanics, soft matter, and living systems. Get to know our researchers and the questions that drive our work.
Pahlavan Lab, August 2024.
Recent papers
Salt can change a particle’s route
Small sideways shifts move particles between fast and slow pathways. In laboratory porous media, this can sharply change how a particle front spreads and clears.
Diffusiophoretic transport of colloids in porous media · Science Advances (2026).
Living barriers set limits on delivery
Salt gradients help particles enter biofilms, but that assistance decreases as the biofilm accumulates. Particle size and surface response matter together.
Biofilm density regulates diffusiophoretic colloid penetration · Soft Matter (2026).
Fluid networks can store a history
Flow bends flexible fibers into switches with two stable states. Hydraulic connections let us control how these memory elements influence one another.
Fluidic hysterons and memory in flow networks · Physical Review X, accepted August 2026.
Explore the research and watch the experiments · Browse all publications
Science Advances cover, February 13, 2026.
Following particles through a maze
What determines whether a particle gets trapped or finds its way through a porous material? Our work combines microfluidic experiments, simulations, and theory to show how salt gradients redirect particles between fast and slow flow paths.
The study was featured on the February 13, 2026 cover of Science Advances. It connects a microscopic force to the large-scale transport of particles through porous materials.
Soft Matter cover, August 12, 2026.
Salt gradients and living barriers
How does a biofilm affect the delivery of particles? Zehao Chen and Amir Pahlavan show how salt gradients promote colloid penetration and how that benefit changes as a biofilm accumulates.
Featured on the August 12, 2026 cover of Soft Matter, the study links particle size, surface response, and the structure of a living barrier.