Research Interests

My research interests are in the general area of intermolecular and intersurface forces in complex fluid systems. Our group uses the Surface Forces Apparatus for directly measuring the forces between surfaces in liquids and vapors, and for studying other interfacial phenomena, providing information at the molecular level not always available by other techniques. Our current research is primarily experimental, and involves measurements of the interactions between various surfaces separated by various liquids and liquid mixtures, surfactants and polymers, and the interactions of biomembranes and biological macromolecules such as protein-protein and ligand-receptor interactions.
Not only static (i.e., equilibrium) but also dynamic forces are being looked at, such as the microviscosity of thin films, molecular relaxation processes at surfaces, friction and lubrication, cavitation and wear. In particular, we are currently studying the very short-range (e.g., adhesion) forces between surfaces in liquids and the relation between adhesion, friction, and the conformations of molecules trapped between surfaces. The surfaces being studied are mica, surfactant and lipid monolayers and bilayers, and model biomembranes either adsorbed or free in solution (as vesicles). New techniques for coating mica surfaces with other surface materials such as polymers, silica, metal oxide layers, etc., are also in progress.
Another area of activity is the development of new experimental techniques, especially for studying dynamic and time-dependent interactions, the frictional forces between moving (e.g., shearing) surfaces, and the rheology of thin films. New attachments are also being developed for measuring very weak forces (corresponding to single bonds) and equilibrium forces that take a long time to equilibrate (as often occurs with polymer systems).
The aim of these studies is to gain insight into the fundamental interactions in complex colloidal and biological systems that also have technological applications, for example, in developing new types of soft composite (bio)materials.

Biography

Jacob Israelachvili received his BA and MA in Physics from the University of Cambridge, England, and also carried out graduate and postgraduate research work there at the Surface Physics Department of the Cavendish Laboratory. He received his PhD in 1972. After a two-year European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) research fellowship at the University of Stockholm, he left for Australia where, from 1974 to 1986, he lead an experimental research laboratory devoted to measuring the forces between surfaces. In 1982 he was elected a member of the Australian Academy of Science. In 1986, he joined the faculty of the University of California at Santa Barbara where he holds a joint appointment as Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Materials Department. In 1988, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and in 1991 he was awarded the Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 1996 he was elected a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering. He is the author of a textbook entitled "Intermolecular and Surface Forces" (Academic Press, 2nd Edition: 1991).