New England Complex Fluids
Knowledge Transfer and Community Building

One of the most successful mechanisms to interact with scientists and engineers from industry and other sectors is through the MRSEC-sponsored, quarterly New England Complex Fluids (NECF) Workshops developed by Weitz and Fraden. The Harvard MRSEC hosts the December workshop on the last Friday of the Fall MRS meeting to attract an even wider audience. Many industrial scientists attending often cite the opportunity to hear the latest research given in the lively "sound bite" session as their best updates on news in the soft matter community. The 65th NECF workshop at Harvard that past December was, again, a standing room only event with over 150 registrants and over 50 "soundbites," given by area researchers. These popular soft matter workshops have taken root in several national (New York area, DC Beltway, Triangle Park, Atlanta) and now international (Swiss, Amsterdam and China Soft Matter Days) efforts as Harvard MRSEC alumni have established new working groups in their localities.