Biological soft matter systems often exhibit complex, time-dependent responses to external stimuli that are difficult to explain using traditional equilibrium frameworks. Quantitative measurements via optical tweezers with physical modeling offer intuitive connections between microscale dynamics and macroscale behavior, revealing simple principles behind complex biological phenomena.

In this talk, I will discuss how dynamic phenomena and internal activity modulate colloidal interactions, mechanical properties, and transport in soft materials. First, I will describe how mobile polymer brushes on colloidal surfaces lead to time-dependent repulsion, where the interaction force relaxes over contact time as surface polymers reorganize. Then, I will introduce study on active cytoskeletal networks, where energy input from molecular motors leads to dynamic restructuring and mechanical changes. Using microrheology and imaging techniques, I quantify how activity controls both local viscoelasticity and the spatial propagation of mechanical signals.

Together, these studies advance our understanding of nonequilibrium dynamics in bio-inspired soft matter and provide design principles for responsive materials across multiple length scales.