Living & Soft Matter
We develop new experimental and analytical tools to probe the dynamics and flow in mesoscale living, fluid, and soft systems. Our curiosity-driven research aims for discoveries in soft matter physics and at the interface between physics and biology.
Current Focus
- Swimming dynamics of micro- to mesoscale organisms
- Soft matter mechanics of living materials, such as tiny plant roots and immune cells
- Droplets and capillary phenomena
- Further development of the micropipette force sensor technique
Group members
Postdocs
- Joonas Ryssy, 2024–2026 –> Postdoc, City University of Hong Kong
- Lokesh Malik, 2024–2025 –> Tenure-track assistant professor, IIT Gandhinagar, India
- Guilherme Bessa, 2023–2025 –> Research Data Solution Lead, Aalto IT services, Finland
MSc students
- Clara Prêcheur Llarena (MSc thesis), 2025–2026
- Heidi Lemmetty (MSc special assignment), Summer 2025
- Annika Marjamäki (MSc-level laboratory exercise, Uni of Helsinki), Summer–Fall 2025
- Dipti Boopalan (MSc thesis), 2024–2025
- Anna Huttunen (MSc thesis), 2024–2025
- Anna Huttunen (MSc special assignment), Summer 2023
BSc students
- Frida Balthasar (BSc thesis), Summer–Fall 2025
- Aku Toivonen (BSc thesis), Spring 2025
- Seela Saartoala (BSc thesis), Summer 2024
- Martta Lamminmäki (BSc thesis), Summer 2024
- Ensio Rislakki (BSc thesis), Summer 2024
- Lotta Ansas (BSc thesis), 2023–2024
- Aaro Saastamoinen (BSc thesis), Summer 2023
International research interns
- Angèle Baron (École normale supérieure, Paris, France), Summer 2026
- Jules Pater (ESPCI, Paris, France), Summer 2024
- Clara Prêcheur Llarena (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), Summer 2023, 2025–2026
Click these links for my contact details and full researcher profile.
Short bio
- Tenure-track Assistant Professor (2022–), Dept. of Applied Physics, Aalto University
- Postdoc(2015–2017) and Academy of Finland postdoc (2017–2022), Aalto University
- PhD in Physics, McMaster University, Canada (2015)
- MSc in Nanoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark (2011)
- BSc in Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland (2009)
Grants and awards (selection)
- Väisälä award for career accomplishments in physics, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (2025)
- ERC StG (2023)
- Research Council of Finland Research Fellowship (2023)
- Grant from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (2023)
- The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Väisälä Starting Grant (2023)
- Hannu Koskinen’s best presentation award at the Finnish Physics Days (2019)
- The Ruth and Nils-Erik Stenbäck Foundation award for career accomplishments in science (2017 and 2024)
- Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher (2017)
- The McMaster University School of Graduate Studies International Excellence Award (2012 and 2014)
Identifiers: ORCID, WoS, Google scholar
Funding
Prof. Backholm is currently funded by an ERC StG (2023), a Research Council of Finland Research Fellowship (2023), the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Väisälä Starting Grant (2023), as well as grants from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (2023) and the Ruth and Nils-Erik Stenbäck Foundation (2024).
Research Highlights
New papers from the group (group members in bold, † shared 1st authors):
- Interaction of vortex rings generated by two unsynchronised drop impacts
A. A. L. Huttunen, G. M. Bessa, and M. Backholm*
arXiv:2607.07214 (2026). - Living droplets with mesoscale swimmers
L. Malik†, N. Sharadhi†, C. Prêcheur Llarena, M. Lamminmäki, R. A. Lara, V. Jokinen, M. Lisicki, and M. Backholm*
arXiv:2509.20005 (2025). - Ultra-slow capillary rise on hydrogel surfaces
A. Datar, J. Ryssy, A. O. Toivonen, and M. Backholm*
Soft Matter (2026), in press. Data shared on Zenodo. - Forces and symmetry breaking of a living meso-swimmer
R. A. Lara†, N. Sharadhi†, A. A. L. Huttunen, L. Ansas, E. J. G. Rislakki, G. M. Bessa, and M. Backholm*
Communications Physics 9, 53(2026). Data shared on Zenodo. - Soft matter mechanics of immune cell aggregates
S. Askari†, G. Saldo Rubio†, A. Datar, H. Harjunpää, S. C. Fagerholm*, and M. Backholm*
J. R. Soc. Interface 22, 20250231 (2025). Data shared on Zenodo.
These papers showcase the PhD and postdoc research of Prof. Backholm:
- Toward vanishing droplet friction on repellent surfaces
M. Backholm*, T. Kärki, H. Nurmi, M. Vuckovac, V. Turkki, S. Lepikko, V. Jokinen, D. Quéré, J. V. I. Timonen, and R. H. A. Ras*
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (PNAS) 121, e2315214121 (2024). Data shared on Zenodo. - Droplet slipperiness despite surface heterogeneity at molecular scale
S. Lepikko, Y. Morais Jaques, M. Junaid, M. Backholm, J. Lahtinen, J. Julin, V. Jokinen, T. Sajavaara, M. Sammalkorpi, A. S. Foster, and R. H. A. Ras
Nature Chemistry 16, 506-513 (2024). - Long-term stability of aerophilic metallic surfaces underwater
A. B. Tesler, S. Kolle, L. H. Prado, I. Thievessen, D. Böhringer, M. Backholm, B. Karunakaran, H. A. Nurmi, M. Latikka, L. Fischer, S. Stafslien, Z. M. Cenev, J. V. I. Timonen, M. Bruns, A. Mazare, U. Lohbauer, S. Virtanen, B. Fabry, P. Schmuki, R. H. A. Ras, J. Aizenberg, and W. H. Goldmann
Nature Materials 22, 1548–1555 (2023). - Water droplet friction and rolling dynamics on superhydrophobic surfaces
M. Backholm*, D. Molpeceres, M. Vuckovac, H. Nurmi, M. Hokkanen, V. Jokinen, J.V.I. Timonen, and R.H.A. Ras*
Communications Materials 1, 64(2020). - Viscosity-enhanced droplet motion in sealed superhydrophobic capillaries
M. Vuckovac, M. Backholm, J.V.I. Timonen, and R.H.A. Ras
Science Advances 6, eaba5197 (2020).
[Highlighted by 12 news outlets, such as Physics Today and Physics World.] - Micropipette force sensors for in vivo force measurements on single cells and multicellular microorganisms
M. Backholm*, and O. Bäumchen*
Nature Protocols 14, 594–615 (2019).
[Highlighted by 10 news outlets, including Science Daily, Phys.org, EurekAlert, ScienMag, TodayChan, and Göttinger Tageblatt] - Tangling of tethered swimmers: Interactions between two nematodes
M. Backholm, R. D. Schulman, W. S. Ryu, and K. Dalnoki-Veress
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 138101 (2014).
[Editor's Suggestion, Highlighted by PRL Editorial] - Viscoelastic properties of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a self-similar, shear-thinning worm
M. Backholm, W. S. Ryu, and K. Dalnoki-Veress
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (PNAS) 110, 4528-4533 (2013).
