An Adventure into the World of Soft Matter

Soft matter is a field of condensed matter physics that began to develop in France in the 1970s under the impulse of Pierre-Gilles de Gennes. I had the chance to participate in this adventure, and I describe in this article some of the memorable events. Soft matter is not only linked to physics but also to chemistry and biology, and working in this multidisciplinary field is quite stimulating. My particular expertise deals with liquid surfaces, an area that considerably expanded with the advent of miniaturization, i.e., when surfaces begin to matter. I was able to benefit from the French and European network systems, as well as from many interactions with young students and industrial partners. I show how these favorable conditions contributed to successes in my research.

Automated summary

Soft matter is a field of condensed matter physics that started developing in France in the 1970s under the influence of Pierre-Gilles de Gennes. The author played a role in this development and shares some memorable events in this article. Soft matter is a multidisciplinary field connected to physics, chemistry, and biology, and working in this area is stimulating. The author's research focuses on liquid surfaces, which have gained importance with the advent of miniaturization. The author benefited from the French and European network systems, as well as collaborations with young students and industrial partners, which contributed to their research successes.