Self-assembly is the spontaneous organization of
building blocks into structures or patterns from a disordered
state. Everyday examples include the freezing of liquids or the
crystallization of salts. These self-assembly processes also occur
in many biological systems, such as the folding of proteins or the
formation of DNA helixes, and there is increased interest in
studying these self-assembly processes. Researcher Patrick Hage
created a new class of self-assembling microparticles that respond
to temperature and light, which allows for precise control over
their assembly into structures.
