Connected matter: the architectures of soft materials.

Soft materials that we eat, spread, squeeze, or 3D print are typically gels - soft amorphous solids whose structural integrity relies on self-assembled networks of particles, fibers, or agglomerates of proteins, polymers, and colloids. In biology, the space between and within human cells is permeated by self-assembled gel networks, the extra-cellular matrix and the cytoskeleton, whose self- organization and heterogeneity is central to biological functions. Complex network architectures underpin the adaptive, tunable, and nonlinear mechanics of these materials and arise from the interplay of molecular forces, surface interactions, aggregation kinetics and frozen-in stresses. In this colloquium, I will discuss the surprises and mysteries of these "connected" systems, and how rigidity, memory, and failure emerge in their complex architectures