Rate My Professor Erika Eiser

Erika Eiser is a Professor in the Department of Physics within the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She serves as Head of the Porous Media Physics section and Principal Investigator at PoreLab, a Norwegian Centre of Excellence dedicated to the physics of porous media. Eiser joined NTNU in 2021 to provide experimental expertise in soft matter physics, complementing the centre's theoretical research. Her academic career includes studying physics at the University of Konstanz in Germany, where she completed her Master's degree, followed by a PhD in soft matter physics in 1997 from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel under the supervision of Jacob Klein. After her doctorate, she held an EU postdoctoral fellowship, then served as Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam, initiating research on DNA-driven self-assembly of colloids, DNA hydrogels, and related systems using microscopy and rheology. She later advanced to Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge, leading a group focused on colloid physics, self-assembling systems, photonics, and out-of-equilibrium phenomena such as thermophoresis.

Eiser's research specializations encompass soft matter physics, self-assembly of DNA-functionalized colloids, porous media dynamics, biophysics, and applications in materials science. Her work explores DNA-functionalized colloids as micron-sized particles with DNA as smart molecular glue for self-assembling soft materials, including diagnostic tools for bacterial infections via whole-genome detection without genetic amplification. She investigates how nanoparticles like nanoclays affect fluid flow properties, contributing to efforts stabilizing clay-rich Norwegian ground against landslides caused by ion leaching from heavy rain. Additional interests include food science, such as protein aggregation in high-pH environments exemplified by Chinese century eggs. Key publications include "High-throughput generation of hydrogel microbeads with varying elasticity for cell encapsulation" (Biomaterials, 2011), "DNA-functionalized colloids: Physical properties and applications" (Soft Matter, 2010), "Microrheology of DNA hydrogels" (PNAS, 2018), "Whole-genome detection using multivalent DNA-coated colloids" (PNAS, 2023), and "Characterization of the polysaccharide schizophyllan and its shear-induced coil-helix transition" (2025). Her contributions advance understanding of complex fluid behaviors in porous media and bio-inspired materials.