Dr. Hore’s primary research and teaching focus is on polymer physics: the mathematics and experimentation used to derive the structure and dynamics of these chains of monomers linked by bonds. In the real world, polymers are not fully extended but are balled up, like a “plate of spaghetti,” and are always in movement. Measuring them is therefore quite difficult, however, the ability to mathematically describe their shape, length, and size is crucial to understanding their physical properties and thus potential use cases. 

In the app developed by Dr. Hore during his fellowship (HoloPolymer), students can see a polymer moving and wiggling in 3-D space. They may pause the simulation to use holographic tools that allow them to take and aggregate measurements, such as the Radius of Gyration (Rg) that describes how far apart each monomer chain is from the center of mass of the molecule.