Varsha Jain, featured ILCS liquid crystal artist, March 2022

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Hi, this is Varsha Jain. I'm currently a Ph.D. scholar at IISER Mohali, working with Dr. Santanu Kumar Pal (Laboratory of Smart Materials and Supramolecular Chemistry). My research work includes the design, synthesis and applications of achiral, polar, 3-4 ringed, unsymmetrically bent-shaped liquid crystals. I'm also interested in the nematic liquid crystal applications as passive biosensors.

My research group webpage: https://web.iisermohali.ac.in/faculty/skpal/index.php/profile

My contact details: https://varshajainsnp.wixsite.com/varsha-jain/research
Contact e-mail: varshajainsnp(at)gmail.com
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This picture represents the point of transformation of nematic cybotactic phase texture to orthogonally ordered smectic A phase texture. The image was captured for a 4-ringed bent-shaped compound in the course of cooling at 108.1°C. The sample was sandwiched between the coverslip and untreated glass slide. Then the displayed microphotograph was observed under cross-polarizers with 200X magnification.
Jury comment: This image has been chosen for its aesthetic beauty, quality and the interest of the texture change that it shows, being representative of a liquid crystal organization of a type of unique compounds due to its bent shape.