We are a group of experimentalists with research interests based on the vision of designing and developing new class of soft and hybrid materials.  For achieving this, we utilize non-covalent interactions between different colloidal entities like proteins, polymers, surfactants, nanoparticles, and liquid crystals to develop various classes of soft materials ranging from bio-conjugated proteins, nematic liquid crystal droplet-protein composites, porous liquids, hierarchically structured meso-macroporous scaffolds, stimuli-responsive polyelectrolytes etc. The mission further involves probing the structure-property relationship in order to fine-tune the functionality of these materials for applications in areas ranging from health to the environment. Particularly, we utilize a combination of small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS-SANS), dynamic/static light scattering (DLS-SLS), scanning/tunnelling electron microscopy (SEM-TEM), polarized optical/fluorescence microscopy, calorimetry and spectroscopic tools, for characterizing the resultant hierarchical microstructure in the self-assembled materials. A small part of our research group is also involved in using molecular dynamic simulations to understand the intermolecular interactions that drive the self-assembly of different colloidal building blocks into hierarchical structures. We collaborate extensively with different academicians and also with various industrial partners. More information can be found on the Research page.