About

Zvonimir Dogic is a Professor at the Department of Physics at UC Santa Barbara, serving also as a Faculty Graduate Advisor. His research focuses on the self-assembly of soft materials, active matter, and out-of-equilibrium physics. His work lies at the intersection of condensed matter experimental physics and the physics of soft and living matter, exploring how complex structures and behaviors emerge in soft materials driven far from equilibrium. Through his investigations, Professor Dogic contributes to understanding fundamental principles governing the organization and dynamics of active systems, which are systems that consume energy to perform mechanical work, leading to novel material properties and functionalities.

Research topics

• Physics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Materials science
• Biology
• Geometry
• Thermodynamics
• Computer Science
• Composite material
• Statistical physics
• Biological system
• Condensed matter physics
• Mathematical analysis
• Classical mechanics
• Mathematics
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical physics
• Chemistry
• Quantum mechanics

Selected publications

• Data from: Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-05-12

  datasetOpen access

  This is the updated (as of 2026-05-12) data and code for Figures 1, 2, and S1 for "Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks."

  PublisherDOI

• Data from: Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-05-12

  datasetOpen access

  Internally generated active stresses drive soft materials into architectures inaccessible to thermal self-assembly. We use a microtubule-based active fluid to assemble and irreversibly restructure actin-fascin networks. Subsequently, we probe the mesoscale mechanics of such networks by combining active microrheology with fluorescence imaging of the strain field around the probe. Increasing motor concentration broadens the pore-size distribution and thickens load-bearing bundles, raising the mean local elastic modulus and its spatial variability. Displacement fields of actively-processed networks propagate over longer range when compared to unprocessed networks. At large strains, both networks strain soften and plastically restructure. The combined microrheology and strain-imaging approach show that tunable active stresses reprogram the structure and viscoelastic response of fiber networks at the scale of their structural heterogeneity.

  PublisherDOI

• Data from: Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-05-12

  datasetOpen access

  This is the updated (as of 2026-05-12) data and code for Figures 1, 2, and S1 for "Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks."

  PublisherDOI

• Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks

  ArXiv.org · 2026-05-11

  articleOpen access

  Internally generated active stresses drive soft materials into architectures inaccessible to thermal self-assembly. We use a microtubule-based active fluid to assemble and irreversibly restructure actin-fascin networks. Subsequently, we probe the mesoscale mechanics of such networks by combining active microrheology with fluorescence imaging of the strain field around the probe. Increasing motor concentration broadens the pore-size distribution and thickens load-bearing bundles, raising the mean local elastic modulus and its spatial variability. Displacement fields of actively-processed networks propagate over longer range when compared to unprocessed networks. At large strains, both networks strain soften and plastically restructure. The combined microrheology and strain-imaging approach show that tunable active stresses reprogram the structure and viscoelastic response of fiber networks at the scale of their structural heterogeneity.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Bicontinuity in active phase separation

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-01-06

  preprintOpen access

  We study phase separation between coexisting active and passive fluids in three-dimensions, using numerical simulation and experiments. Chaotic flows of the active phase drive giant interfacial deformations, causing the co-existing phases to interpenetrate and generate a continuously reconfiguring bicontinuous morphology which persists over the lifetime of the active fluid. Active bicontinuous structures are dominated by sheet-like interfaces, in marked difference from passive liquid-liquid phase separation which is controlled by saddle-like surfaces. Activity and surface tension control the length scale of the bicontinuous structure. These results demonstrate how active stresses suppress the coarsening of conventional phase separation, generating steady-state reconfigurable morphologies not accessible with conventional surface-modifying agents or through quenching of transient phase separated structures.

  PublisherDOI

• Active assembly and non-reciprocal dynamics of elastic membranes

  Nature Physics · 2026-04-02

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Active assembly and non-reciprocal dynamics of elastic membranes

  Nature Physics · 2026-04-01 · 2 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mechanics of heterogeneous fiber networks

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-05-11

  preprintOpen access

  Internally generated active stresses drive soft materials into architectures inaccessible to thermal self-assembly. We use a microtubule-based active fluid to assemble and irreversibly restructure actin-fascin networks. Subsequently, we probe the mesoscale mechanics of such networks by combining active microrheology with fluorescence imaging of the strain field around the probe. Increasing motor concentration broadens the pore-size distribution and thickens load-bearing bundles, raising the mean local elastic modulus and its spatial variability. Displacement fields of actively-processed networks propagate over longer range when compared to unprocessed networks. At large strains, both networks strain soften and plastically restructure. The combined microrheology and strain-imaging approach show that tunable active stresses reprogram the structure and viscoelastic response of fiber networks at the scale of their structural heterogeneity.

  PublisherDOI

• Bicontinuity in active phase separation

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  We study phase separation between coexisting active and passive fluids in three-dimensions, using numerical simulation and experiments. Chaotic flows of the active phase drive giant interfacial deformations, causing the co-existing phases to interpenetrate and generate a continuously reconfiguring bicontinuous morphology which persists over the lifetime of the active fluid. Active bicontinuous structures are dominated by sheet-like interfaces, in marked difference from passive liquid-liquid phase separation which is controlled by saddle-like surfaces. Activity and surface tension control the length scale of the bicontinuous structure. These results demonstrate how active stresses suppress the coarsening of conventional phase separation, generating steady-state reconfigurable morphologies not accessible with conventional surface-modifying agents or through quenching of transient phase separated structures.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Topology and kinetic pathways of colloidosome assembly and disassembly

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-09-04 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Closed capsules, such as lipid vesicles, soap bubbles, and emulsion droplets, are ubiquitous throughout biology, engineered matter, and everyday life. Their creation and disintegration are defined by a singularity that separates a topologically distinct extended liquid film from a boundary-free closed shell. Such topology-changing processes are of fundamental interest. They are also essential for intercellular transport, transcellular communication, and drug delivery. However, studies of vesicle formation are challenging because of the rapid dynamics and small length scale involved. We develop fluid colloidosomes, micrometer-sized analogues of lipid vesicles. The mechanics of colloidosomes and lipid vesicles are described by the same theoretical model. We study colloidosomes close to their disk-to-sphere topological transition. Intrinsic colloidal length and time scales slow down the dynamics to reveal colloidosome conformations in real time during their assembly and disassembly. Remarkably, the lowest-energy pathway by which a closed vesicle transforms into a flat disk involves a topologically distinct cylinder-like intermediate. These results reveal aspects of topological changes that are relevant to all liquid capsules. They also provide a robust platform for the encapsulation, transport, and delivery of nanosized cargoes.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Colloidal membranes and assembly of heterogeneous 2D materials

  NSF · $420k · 2016–2017

• Colloidal membranes and assembly of heterogeneous 2D materials

  NSF · $346k · 2017–2020

• Building Cellular Complexity: from Molecular Motors to Synthetic Cilia

  NSF · $300k · 2013–2016

• Collaborative Research: Multiscale Engineering of Active Stress in Biomaterials

  NSF · $273k · 2020–2024

• Formin assisted turnover of actin filaments in vitro and in vivo

  NIH · $577k · 2008–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Michael F. Hagan

  Brandeis University

  54 shared

• Thomas Gibaud

  École Normale Supérieure de Lyon

  52 shared

• Seth Fraden

  Brandeis University

  52 shared

• Linnea Lemma

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  51 shared

• Prerna Sharma

  37 shared

• Daniel Needleman

  Flatiron Health (United States)

  35 shared

• Bezia Lemma

  Harvard University

  33 shared

• Mark J. Zakhary

  28 shared

Labs

• Zvonimir Dogic's LabPI

  Extracted from the lab webpage, the lab's research focus is not provided.

Education

• B.A.

  Brandeis University

• Ph.D.

  Brandeis University