Hi, my name is Ishant Tiwari. I am an incoming Assistant Professor of Physics at Colorado College.

My research explores soft matter, organismal biophysics, and nonlinear dynamics, with a particular interest in entangled and knotted systems. I study how topology, flexibility, activity, and interactions shape the mechanics and dynamics of slender matter systems ranging from tangled fibers to biological collectives.

Before joining Colorado College, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the Bhamla Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology, advised by Saad Bhamla. There, I investigated entangled and knotted systems across biological and synthetic settings, including tangled fibers, knotted worms, water-walking insects, and active worm blobs.

I did my doctoral work at IIT Bombay in experimental nonlinear dynamics, focusing on the dynamics of ensembles of self-propelled particles. My Ph.D. was supervised by Punit Parmananda. I completed my M.Sc. in Physics at IIT Bombay, where my thesis studied stochastic resonance in an electrochemical system, and my B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics at S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, University of Delhi.

Since my master's in Physics, I have worked or am working on the following subjects, in arbitrary order:-

• Organismal Biophysics

• Entangled systems and Knot formation

• Active matter and its ensemble dynamics

• Stochastic Resonance

• Synchronization

• Oscillation Quenching

• Agent-based epidemic modeling

Ongoing Projects

• I am currently studying entangled systems (biological and artificial). Specifically, I am trying to understand the dynamics of fiber extraction from a tangled filament and what role topology plays in it. 

• I am fascinated by topological complexities (such as knots) that appear in nature across a variety of length scales and am currently exploring some of these systems. 

• I am also interested in understanding the peculiar interfacial dynamics of a water-walking insect from the genus Rhagovelia.

• I am also trying to understand the physical aspects of the worm blobs formed by Tubifex spp. and the California Blackworms Lumbriculus variegatus. I am fascinated by complex behaviors that emerge when a collection of active agents comes together. 

Education

Ph.D. - Physics, Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay

M.Sc. - Physics, Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay

B.Sc.(Honors) - Physics, S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, University of Delhi