— Erwin Schrödinger, What is Life? (1944)

More than eighty years ago, Schrödinger proposed that life sustains itself by staying far from thermodynamic equilibrium, continuously consuming energy to build order out of disorder. In his view, living matter avoids decay by drawing on energy gradients — by “feeding on negative entropy.”
Schrödinger’s insight that life sustains itself by remaining far from equilibrium continues to inspire modern science. Today, this philosophy underpins the rapidly growing field of non-equilibrium soft and active matter, where chemical energy is harnessed to create smart materials that move, assemble, and communicate much like living cells. 

My research addresses how non-equilibrium chemical and interfacial energy flows can endow synthetic matter with lifelike behaviours — such as autonomous motion, oscillation, self-organization and communication. I currently pursue two main directions: 

1. Self-organization of microgel compartments (MCs):  Self-organization is the spontaneous ordering of components into organized structures through local interactions and continuous energy consumption — much like how living cells maintain shape, function, and coordination.
we design enzyme-powered MCs that self-organize at water–oil interfaces by balancing repulsive solutal flows (generated by enzyme reactions) and attractive capillary forces.
This enable controlled communication and cargo exchange, mimicking cooperative behaviors seen in living cells. 
 

 2. Microgel compartments based chemomechanical oscillator: We designed chemomechanical self-oscillatory microgels that exhibit buoyant motility within stratified chemical media. By coupling chemical reactions (Ca²⁺/citrate antagonism) with mechanical deformation, these microgels undergo rhythmic swelling–deswelling cycles, resulting in autonomous float–sink oscillations without external modulation.