Gaspard Junot

• PostDoc Position at University of Barcelona

Magnetic gels with embedded micro-/nano-sized magnetic particles in cross-linked polymer networks can be actuated by external magnetic fields, with changes in their internal microscopic structures and macroscopic mechanical properties. We investigate the responses of such magnetic gels to an external magnetic field, by means of coarse-grained molec...

Driven or self-propelling particles moving in viscoelastic fluids recently emerged as a novel class of active systems showing a complex yet rich set of phenomena due to the non-Newtonian nature of the dispersing medium. Here we investigate the one-dimensional growth of clusters made of active colloidal shakers, which are realized by oscillating mag...

We report the emergence of large zigzag bands in a population of reversibly actuated magnetic rotors that behave as active shakers, namely squirmers that shake the fluid around them without moving. The shakers collectively organize into dynamic structures displaying self-similar growth and generate topological defects in the form of cusps that conn...

Magnetic nanorods driven by rotating fields in water can be rapidly steered along any direction while generating strong and localized hydrodynamic flow fields. Here we show that, when raising the frequency of the rotating field, these nanopropellers undergo a dynamic transition from a rolling to a kayak-like motion due to the increase in viscous dr...

In viscous fluids, motile microentities such as bacteria or artificial swimmers often display different transport modes than macroscopic ones. A current challenge in the field aims at using friction asymmetry to steer the motion of microscopic particles. Here we show that lithographically shaped magnetic microtriangles undergo a series of complex t...

Gels are soft elastic materials made of a three-dimensional cross-linked polymer network and featuring both elastic and dissipative responses under external mechanical stimuli. Here we investigate how such gels mediate the organization of embedded magnetic microparticles when driven by an external field. By constructing a continuum theory, we demon...

Motile bacteria are known to accumulate at surfaces, eventually leading to changes in bacterial motility and biofilm formation. We use a novel two-color, three-dimensional Lagrangian tracking technique to follow simultaneously the body and the flagella of a wild-type Escherichia coli. We observe long surface residence times and surface escape corre...

We investigate the collective transport properties of microscopic magnetic rollers that propel close to a surface due to a circularly polarized, rotating magnetic field. The applied field exerts a torque to the particles, which induces a net rolling motion close to a surface. The collective dynamics of the particles result from the balance between...

We investigate the collective transport properties of microscopic magnetic rollers that propel close to a surface due to a circularly polarized, rotating magnetic field. The applied field exerts a torque to the particles, which induces a net rolling motion close to a surface. The collective dynamics of the particles result from the balance between...

Motile bacteria are known to accumulate at surfaces, eventually leading to changes in bacterial motility and bio-film formation. Using a novel two-colour, three-dimensional Lagrangian tracking technique, following simultaneously the body and flagella of wild-type ${\it Escherichia~coli}$, we observe long surface residence times and monitor escapes...

We develop a maximum likelihood method to infer relevant physical properties of elongated active particles. Using individual trajectories of advected swimmers as input, we are able to accurately determine their rotational diffusion coefficients and an effective measure of their aspect ratio, also providing reliable estimators for the uncertainties...

We develop a maximum likelihood method to infer relevant physical properties of elongated active particles. Using individual trajectories of advected swimmers as input, we are able to accurately determine their rotational diffusion coefficients and an effective measure of their aspect ratio, also providing reliable estimators for the uncertainties...

In this thesis, I investigate the transport properties of Escherichia. Coli bacteria in a flow. First I introduce the Lagrangian 3D tracker that I used and improved. This apparatus allows to follow bacteria in 3 dimensions over long periods of time and large spaces in a quiescent fluid or under flow and is the suitable tool to study microscopic pro...

Bacterial contamination of biological channels, catheters or water resources is a major threat to public health, which can be amplified by the ability of bacteria to swim upstream. The mechanisms of this ‘rheotaxis’, the reorientation with respect to flow gradients, are still poorly understood. Here, we follow individual E. coli bacteria wimming at...

–Using a 3D Lagrangian tracking technique, we determine experimentally the trajectories of non-tumbling E. coli mutants swimming in a Poiseuille flow. We identify a typology of trajectories in agreement with a kinematic "active Bretherton-Jeffery" model, featuring an axisymmetric self-propelled ellipsoid. In particular, we recover the "swinging" an...

Using a 3D Lagrangian tracking technique, we determine experimentally the trajectories of non-tumbling ${\it E. coli}$ mutants swimming in a Poiseuille flow. We identify a typology of trajectories in agreement with a kinematic "active Bretherton-Jeffery" model, featuring an axi-symmetric self-propelled ellipsoid. Using this model we derive analytic...

Bacterial contamination of biological conducts, catheters or water resources is a major threat to public health and can be amplified by the ability of bacteria to swim upstream. The mechanisms of this rheotaxis, the reorientation with respect to flow gradients, often in complex and confined environments, are still poorly understood. Here, we follow...

Unraveling bacterial strategies for spatial exploration is crucial for understanding the complexity in the organization of life. Bacterial motility determines the spatio-temporal structure of microbial communities, controls infection spreading and the microbiota organization in guts or in soils. Most theoretical approaches for modeling bacterial tr...

We experimentally study the mechanical pressure exerted by a set of respectively passive isotropic and self-propelled polar disks onto two different flexible unidimensional membranes. In the case of the isotropic disks, the mechanical pressure, inferred from the shape of the membrane, is identical for both membranes and follows the equilibrium equa...

We experimentally study the mechanical pressure exerted by a set of respectively passive isotropic and self-propelled polar disks onto two different flexible unidimensional membranes. In the case of the isotropic disks, the mechanical pressure, inferred from the shape of the membrane, is identical for both membranes and follows the equilibrium equa...