Alexei Tkachenko

Current classes

About me

I am a theoretical physicist working at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. I graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1993, and got my Ph. D. in Physics from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, in 1998. After that, I spend several years as a Postdoc at the University of Chicago and in Bell Labs, and later as a faculty at the University of Michigan.

My research interests are primarily in the field of statistical physics, with application to what is known as Soft Condensed Matter Physics. Together with my experimental colleagues, we study a large variety of systems and materials, such as DNA, proteins, various nanostructures, colloids, and even regular sand.

I will be teaching physics at School Nova. Even though I am a theorist, I believe that formulas don't matter that much in Physics. What is important, is a qualitative picture and the grasp of basic concepts. Therefore, I plan to emphasize experimental demonstrations, hands-on experience, and some multimedia to make those concepts less abstract. In addition, I will try to make connections between the elementary physics and actual research that is going on right now, not 100 or 400 years ago.